Mobility startups raise $11.7m funding in April

From the newsletter

Ghanaian startup Kofa raised $8.2 million funding in April, contributing 70% of the $11.7 million that the continent’s electric mobility firms raised. The month saw Uganda’s Gogo Electric raise $3 million in equity, Cameroonian startups Swyft and Bee also raised $0.1 million each in equity, while South Africa’s Zimi Charge received a $0.3 million grant.  

• April’s funding pushes the total capital raised by electric mobility startups this year to $56.6 million. Investors pumped $39.2 million into the sector in February following a dry January where no money was raised. This however dropped sharply to just $5.7 million in March.  

• The funding raised during the four-month period between January and April 2025 is however only a fraction of the $151.6 million during the same period, according to data from Africa: The Big Deal.  

More details

• Kofa’s $8.1 million pre-Series A funding round comprises $3.25 million in equity, $4.315 million in debt, and $590,000 in grants. The capital is expected to fuel the company’s expansion and supercharge its AI-powered battery-swapping network, delivering reliable, clean energy solutions to urban Africa, starting in Ghana and Kenya.

• Uganda’s Gogo Electric, a leading seller of electric motorcycles and lithium-ion batteries in the East African country, raised $3 million equity investment from the state-owned Uganda Development Bank (UDB) during the month. The firm said it would use the funds to scale its operations to meet increased demand for its motorcycles. 

• Bee Group, a Cameroonian company specialising in urban mobility and freight delivery, sealed a $0.1 million venture round in April. Swift, another Cameroonian logistics startup, also raised $0.1 million in a venture round. 

• South African EV charging startup Zimi Charge also secured $0.32 million in grant funding from the Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP) Africa Trust Fund. This funding will support Zimi Charge's pilot testing of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, which allows EVs to power homes, businesses, or the national grid. 

• April saw a diverse range of capital flow into the continent’s electric mobility startups, with more than half ($6.5 million) being equity financing. It comes at a time when financing across most sectors has been muted, reflecting uncertainties in the global capital markets.  

• The immediate future of global investments in the continent’s emerging EV startups remains uncertain as US President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff on imported EVs and parts makes it more expensive for African startups to operate especially when sourcing batteries, motors, and other critical components from global suppliers.

Our take

• Despite global economic uncertainties, key players in Africa’s electric mobility sector are still securing funding. The dominance of equity financing suggests investors see long-term potential in battery-swapping, e-motorcycles, and charging infrastructure.

• Startups like Kofa and Gogo Electric are focusing on battery-swapping and affordable motorcycles—solutions tailored to Africa’s unique mobility needs. This signals a growing preference for technology adapted to local conditions.

• Uganda Development Bank’s investment in Gogo Electric and EEP Africa’s support for Zimi Charge show that governments and international partnerships are stepping in. This trend could accelerate policy-driven growth of Africa’s EV ecosystem.