BasiGo grows charging capacity by half

November 10, 2025

Dear subscriber,

Electric buses are gaining traction in Africa, but the number of chargers is low. For bus companies, solving this bottleneck holds the key to scaling. But can they get the money required?

Brian Ambani – Editor

BasiGo grows charging capacity by half

Kenyan electric bus company BasiGo has opened three new bus charging depots in the capital Nairobi and is set to open another one next month to meet growing demand. The company said each facility is equipped with high-capacity DC fast chargers featuring GB/T and CCS2 connectors. Combined, the new depots can charge up to 100 electric buses daily. 

  • BasiGo currently has six charging depots in the Nairobi area, with the new depots taking its total count to nine. The company has situated the facilities in the four corners of the city to serve its growing fleet of electric buses.  

  • The upfront investment needed for high-capacity chargers and the supporting grid infrastructure is large, limiting rollout. In Kenya, a fast charger can cost up to $80,000 plus the site, installation and grid upgrade costs.

  • Our take: BasiGo may need to raise new funding to scale production capacity and charging networks faster… Read more (2 min)

Chinese phone maker Xiaomi is set to begin manufacturing EVs in Egypt, according to Islam Adel, the company’s factory manager in the country. This will mark Xiaomi’s first EV plant in Africa, although its SU7 and YU7 models are already being sold through dealerships. The factory, located in the Ain Sokhna area, will also produce other Xiaomi electronics.

  • Xiaomi is the latest Chinese phone company to venture into Africa’s EV sector. Transsion, the company behind Tecno and Infinix phones, is racing to conquer the electric motorcycle market through its EV subsidiary TankVolt.  

  • Most Chinese companies in Africa focus on assembling their EVs rather than full-scale manufacturing.

  • Our take: Xiaomi needs to get the tech integration in its EVs right… Read more (2 min)

Electric vehicle prices in Nigeria have risen by 2.1% over the past month, according to Mobility Rising’s monthly prices review. We analyse prices of six popular EV models in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt – four of Africa’s leading markets – to spot pricing trends. While prices in Nigeria increased, they remained steady in Kenya, South Africa and Egypt. 

  • This is the second consecutive monthly increase in EV prices in Nigeria, after stagnating for the previous four months. Prices have remained unchanged for three months in a row in Egypt, and two in South Africa and Kenya. 

  • The influx of newer models, especially in Egypt and South Africa, is expected to lead to lower EV prices. Downward pressure will accelerate further with the entry of used EVs, which are becoming popular in some African markets. 

  • Our take: Import duty reductions, EV credit schemes and assembly incentives will be crucial to sustain affordability… Read more (2 min)

Adedayo Odunlami (in a white shirt), CEO of ZOOMe, participates in a panel at the Delta40 Scale Summit (Source: Adedayo Odunlami)

Jobs

👨🏻‍💻 Join Ballancell as a Senior Software Engineer (South Africa)

👮🏻 Become a Sales and Marketing Associate at Boda Guy (Uganda)

👷‍♂️ Apply for Charging Infrastructure Engineer’s role at Drivelectric (Kenya)

Events

📅 Attend South Africa’s automotive value chains webinar (Nov 26)

📅 Pitch at AfriArena Grand Summit in South Africa (Dec 2)

📅 Prepare for Africa Tech Summit in advance (Feb 11, 2026)

Various 

🤝 BluEV partners with Techie Matter to build and grow their tech talent

👨‍✈️ Drivelectric introduces corporate chauffeur services in Kenya 

🏆 AVA wins the Quality Excellence Award at the 22nd Daimler KDQM Conference.

Seen on LinkedIn 

Mustapha Ibrahim, Founder of Road Runner Mobility Tech, says, “(Nigeria) faces hurdles: inconsistent power supply, limited charging stations, and perceptions that EVs are ‘luxury toys’. But every challenge is also an opportunity.”