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- Major funding gap constricts Kiira’s electric bus expansion path
Major funding gap constricts Kiira’s electric bus expansion path
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 | Ugandan state-owned motor vehicle manufacturer Kiira Motors Corporation has signed a letter of intent to supply more than 3,700 electric buses to West Africa. Kiira’s main plant in Jinja has an annual capacity of 2,500 vehicles. So far 41 buses have been produced by the company, out of which 29 are electric. They are used for public transport in East African cities. |
While demand for its electric buses is high, Kiira lacks sufficient capital, forcing the company to push its break-even target from 2023 to 2030. Kiira has received government funding of $93 million between 2018 and 2023 but now faces a funding gap of more than $40 million.
Should it plug the hole, the export market holds significant potential. Kiira currently relies on domestic sales. The company has previously received orders for its electric buses from Tanzania, Nigeria, Eswatini, and South Africa.
Our take: African electric bus companies must find a way to solve their capital constraints to meet growing demand… Read more (2 min)
 | Tinci Materials Technology, a leading Chinese supplier of electrolytes and electrolyte chemicals for lithium batteries, has signed a $282.3 million deal with Morocco to build a factory. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 150,000 tons of electrolytes and other key lithium battery raw materials. Tinci has pledged to start production by 2028. |
Morocco has free trade agreements with the US and the EU. Under a cloud of tariffs from the two regions, Chinese companies are moving to Morocco to continue to access lucrative markets.
The North African country is leading Africa’s push to attract big-money investments in the electric vehicles and components industry, especially from China.
Our take: The clustering of battery companies in Morocco could attract even more upstream and downstream players—such as recyclers, software firms and EV assemblers—creating a complete ecosystem… Read more (2 min)
 | Electric bus manufacturer BasiGo has increased its senior staffing by 37% (39 new personnel) over the past 12 months, LinkedIn data analysed by Mobility Rising shows. The hiring surge is aimed at addressing a backlog of over 500 undelivered units carried over from last year. BasiGo now plans to deliver an additional 80 buses before the end of 2025. |
BasiGo is doubling its assembly capacity to 20 electric buses per month. This expansion requires an additional workforce. The increased staffing will support the company in delivering more buses to clients, with orders now surpassing 1,000 units.
The expansion follows a $42 million capital raise in October (a mix of equity and debt). Most of the funds went on capital expenditure, while the rest supports workforce growth to scale up production.
Our take: BasiGo is expected to continue to hire new staff to help it meet a growing number of orders… Read more (2 min)
Raymond Kitunga, Deputy Head of Spiro Kenya (fourth right), at an MoU signing event last week
Events
📆 Attend the Africa Technology Expo in Nigeria (June 21)
📆 Register for AIDC EV Summit in South Africa(July 17)
📆 Join the East African Regional Electric Mobility Workshop (July 30)
Jobs
👨🏻💼 Become a Quality Assurance Supervisor at Dodai (Ethiopia)
🛠️ Join Zembo as a Process Engineer (Uganda)
📈 Perform tax accounting at MAX (Nigeria)
Various
🆕 Gogo Electric opens a new branch in Jinja, Uganda
🔌 Tunisia to deregulate EV charging prices
📝 Read the Uganda E-Mobility Outlook Report 2024
Seen on LinkedIn
Geofrey Mutabazi, CEO of Karaa Africa, says, “Building resilient supply chains and adapting components to fit the African context is not a luxury….If you’re building hardware in Africa or anywhere, remember: you’re not just managing a product. You’re managing an ecosystem.”