- Mobility Rising
- Posts
- Nigerian state throws weight behind EVs for public transport
Nigerian state throws weight behind EVs for public transport
 | Nigeria was late to adopt electric vehicles, but its officials are now leading the charge on the use of EVs for public transport. The national government’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) targets 13 million EVs by 2050, or 60% of the current fleet. In the meantime, state governments in Lagos, Ogun, Benue, and Borno have their own initiatives. |
Benue Investment Property Company (BIPC) launched a fleet of solar-powered EV taxis in the Benue State capital, in collaboration with Nigerian EV firm Esse Mobility. It aims to deploy 500 units by December and create 8,500 green jobs.
Nigeria’s EV market is at an early stage, despite growing interest from both government and the private sector. While the landscape is currently dominated by compressed natural gas (CNG) initiatives, EVs are gaining ground.
Our take: Local governments across Africa could emulate Nigeria’s state governments' initiatives to roll out EVs… Read more (2 min)
 | Electric bicycles are expensive, sometimes costing more than fuel motorcycles. To cut this price, retrofitting pedal bicycles with electric motors and batteries is taking root. This week, we interviewed Daccon Owino, the founder of Anywhere Mobility Solutions Ltd, a Kenya-based startup specialising in the retrofitting of pedal bicycles into electric bicycles. |
Demand for electric bicycles in Kenya is growing rapidly, but the market is dominated by a handful of startups, mainly eBee, the market leader, and eWaka Mobility. Mr Owino’s startup however seeks to drive down the cost of electric bicycles through conversion of existing pedal bicycles.
The entrepreneur has experience in the mobility sector, having started out at eBee where he gained knowledge on Kenya’s bicycle industry. While demand for electric bicycles remains concentrated in the capital Nairobi, Mr Owino hopes to venture into other cities soon.
To read our full conversation, click here (3 min)
 | Erik Nygard, the founder and CEO of Ghana-based electric mobility company Kofa, was the top fundraiser in April. He led Kofa to raise $8.2 million from a diverse group of investors who pumped equity, debt and grants into his firm, which also operates in Kenya. Prior to founding Kofa, he founded Limejump in the UK, an energy technology firm bought by Shell in 2019. |
The pool of investors who pumped money into electric mobility startups in April was diverse, consisting of both local and foreign investors. It included both for-profit and nonprofit funders, the latter of which provided grants.
Regarding entrepreneurs who fundraised, Kofa’s Erik Nygard scooped up 70% of the month’s total funding in the sector ($11.7 million).
Our take: While the pool of investors in Africa is growing, the ticket sizes remain small, indicating that confidence in the electric mobility sector is still low…Read more (2 min)
Events
🗓️ Listen to EV Residual Value webinar (May 19)
🗓️ Register for Africa Technology Show happening in Kenya (July 8)
🗓️ Attend the Africa E-Mobility Week in Ethiopia (Sep 16)
Jobs
👷🏻♂️ Apply for Field Service Manager at MAX (Nigeria)
👨💼 Join People Operations team at Roam (Kenya)
💰 Become the next Loan Sales Officer at Mogo (Uganda)
Various
🚍 BasiGo rolls out electric buses beyond Kigali city borders
🔌 Kenya to deploy 10,000 EV chargers by 2030
🚘 Green Valley to supply 100 EVs in Egypt
Seen on LinkedIn
Mathew Sellar, Co-founder of Mbay Mobility, says, “It's just incredibly inefficient and we're convinced that if taxis were all affordable, comfortable and safe, instead of spending 6m CFA to buy a car, people would take a lot more taxi. ”