Grants and debt make comeback in July funding rounds

August 21, 2025

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Funding raised by Africa’s mobility and logistics companies totalled $8.1 million in July, according to data from Africa: The Big Deal. The amount, raised by 12 companies, is a sharp decline compared to the $27.8 million raised in June. It brings the total funding raised by mobility and logistics companies in the first seven months of 2025 to $119 million.

  • Last month, two firms raised a total of $6 million in debt, while equity funding totalled $1.1 million. Grant funding made a return for the first time since April, with five companies getting a grant of $0.2 million each, totaling $1 million.  

  • Cauris Finance was the top investor, making a loan of $5 million, while Powering Renewable Energy Opportunities (PREO) gave a $1 million grant. Other investors were FMO ($1 million), Launch Africa ($0.5 million), Waarde Capital ($0.5 million) and University of Michigan International Investment Fund ($0.1 million). 

  • Our take: PREO’s grants are timely, and will enable the beneficiaries with breathing room to experiment on business models… Read more (2 min)

Global logistics company DHL has launched an electric truck pilot in collaboration with Unilever and Volvo Trucks in South Africa. The pilot, which began on August 1, 2025, involves deploying an 18-metre electric Volvo FMX 6X4 truck to support Unilever's supply chain operations. The primary aim is to evaluate the economic viability of EVs compared to diesel vehicles. 

  • The pilot enables DHL to see if electric trucks make sense financially without committing significant capital initially. A successful pilot could see the company invest significantly in electric trucks.  

  • A number of South African supermarket chains, e-commerce firms, pharmaceutical companies and delivery outfits have in recent years made the leap to electric vans, light-duty and heavy-duty commercial trucks. 

  • Our take: Companies that are piloting EVs should make their findings publicly available to inform key market players… Read more (2 min)

Mobility Rising has tracked 65 vacancies across Africa in the past four weeks. East Africa leads with 38 positions, followed by West Africa with 23. The top three recruiters are Gamma Mobility (13), Zembo (11) and Zeno (9), with high demand for technical expertise (electrical & mechanical), sales and business development as well as operations and management skills.

  • Zembo has been aggressively hiring since June, a move helped by Dutch development bank FMO’s $1 million loan approved in July, aimed at strengthening its position against Gogo Electric and Spiro in Uganda. Zeno is also actively recruiting in Uganda. 

  • For the first time, Gamma Mobility is hiring extensively across multiple Ghanaian cities, while EGIKE, an Egyptian electric bicycle company, makes its debut on the Mobility Rising job board.

  • Click here to see the full list of open vacancies… (2 min)

Tedesse Tessema, CEO TAD Motors, displays his licence during the groundbreaking ceremony of the company’s assembly plant in Kenya

 

Events

🗓️ Register for Automotive & Manufacturing webinar (Aug 22)

🗓️ Join industry experts at the Battery Metals Forum in DRC (Sept 29)

🗓️ Attend Kenya National Public Transport Summit (Nov 25)

Various 

📝 Read why Day Zero Venturers invested in Zeno

🚚 Tata Motors re-enters SA’s market after exiting 6 years ago

🔟 Watu Credit marks a decade of operations

Seen on LinkedIn 

Prian Reddy, Senior Programme Manager at C40 Cities, says, “Innovative financing models, like BasiGo's Pay as you Drive solution, will play an increasingly important role in accelerating the large-scale adoption of electric buses in African cities.”