Here are May’s top mobility fundraisers

From the newsletter

Egyptians Omar El Defrawy, an economist, and Amr Mazen, an electronic engineer, were the leading fundraisers in May. The duo are the co-founders of Sylndr, an Egyptian used car startup founded in 2021. They raised $15.7 million from a pool of seven investors, more than half the month’s funding for Africa which totalled $26.5 million.

• Mr El Defrawy, who serves as Sylndr’s CEO, started his career at the Central Bank of Egypt before leaving for financial services firm EFG Hermes. Before co-founding the startup, he was the CEO of food delivery firm elmenus. Mr Mazen has held more than seven senior positions in different firms, the last of which was as the commercial director at used car firm Cazoo before co-founding Sylndr.  

• The duo has led the firm to raise more than $30 million since it was established. The latest funding is the largest equity funding raised by a mobility startup since Kenya-based electric bus company BasiGo raised $24 million equity in October 2024.  

More details

• South African electric vehicle charging company Charge, which was co-founded by Andries Malherbe and Joubert Roux in 2021, also raised $5.5 million in equity. Mr Malherbe, a lawyer, is a serial entrepreneur who has founded numerous businesses. Mr Roux is also an experienced executive, holding a slew of senior positions in Botswana and South Africa over the years. The startup seeks to use the funding to scale the construction of solar-powered charging stations. 

• ARC Ride, a Kenya-based electric motorcycle company, received a major boost with a $5 million capital injection in May. The company was founded in 2019 by Joseph Hurst-Croft, a political economist. Mr Hurst-Croft, who is ARC Ride’s CEO, has been leading the firm’s charge towards creating a wide network of battery swapping cabinets in Kenya, particularly Nairobi. 

• Despite their different backgrounds, Oluwaseyi Adefemi, a geologist, and Soumobroto Ganguly, a lawyer, joined forces in 2021 to establish Drive45. The Nigerian startup offers a subscription model that allows individuals and businesses to access both brand-new and pre-owned vehicles. In May, the duo led the company to raise $0.2 million in equity financing.

• Tunisian startup Genow also raised $0.1 million in equity funding in May. The company was founded in 2021 by Ahmed Smaali, a computer scientist. Genow seeks to improve road safety for industrial and recreational vehicles through development of advanced obstacle detection technology. 

• Construction engineer Jakob Hornbach was also one of the fundraisers in May. He is the CEO of Gogo Electric, a Ugandan electric motorcycle company which he founded in 2017, then known as Bodawerk. While the size of Gogo’s funding in May is undisclosed, the company raised $3 million equity investment in April. 

• As our analysis shows, the pool of professional backgrounds of the leading fundraisers in May is wide, ranging from law, geology, construction engineering and computer science. While some of the startups have single founders, others have co-founders with different skillsets, which is key for success in Africa’s increasingly competitive mobility startup ecosystem. 

Our take

• The May funding rounds highlight a growing maturity in Africa's mobility sector, moving beyond core ride-hailing to specialised niches like used car marketplaces, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and electric motorcycles with battery swapping. 

• The significant investments in electric motorcycle companies underscore the strong investor confidence in electric mobility across Africa. This trend is driven by the clear economic benefits for commercial users, especially motorcycle taxis. 

• The varied professional backgrounds, skillsets and industry experience of the leading fundraisers is valuable within founding teams. This multidisciplinary approach is crucial for navigating the complex challenges and opportunities in Africa's competitive startup landscape.