Opinion: Africa needs this model of financing EVs

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The narrative around EVs often revolves around battery range, infrastructure, and cost, yet the most pressing barrier in emerging markets is financial access, says Adetayo Bamiduro, the CEO of Nigerian EV startup MAX. In countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone, lending rates often exceed 25%, limiting the leap to electric mobility. 

• Mr. Bamiduro has served as CEO of MAX since its launch in 2015, leading the company to raise over $60 million and expand beyond Nigeria. He is now focused on delivering e-mobility solutions through electric motorcycles and tricycles.

• If the current financing gap isn’t addressed, EV ownership will remain a luxury accessible to only a few, says Mr Bamiduro. Scaling inclusive e-mobility solutions will require joint action from all stakeholders.

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By Adetayo Bamiduro

Electric vehicles (EVs) are central to the world’s climate and economic goals. But despite the momentum, one reality is becoming increasingly clear: EVs won’t scale, at least not equitably, unless financing systems are redesigned to meet the needs of the majority.

In high-income countries, adoption is supported by subsidies, tax incentives, and affordable loans. In contrast, most emerging markets lack these financial cushions. As a result, millions are excluded from the clean mobility revolution; not due to a lack of demand, but due to limited access.

Financing institutions are now recognising this as a design challenge. Some are beginning to develop innovative models that reflect the realities of informal economies and underserved communities. These models aim to empower everyday transport workers, such as gig drivers, small business operators, rural commuters, not only to ride EVs but to own them and thrive from them.

The financing gap blocking Africa's EV growth

The global narrative around EVs often focuses on technology: battery range, charging infrastructure, vehicle cost. But beneath the surface, the single greatest barrier to adoption in emerging markets is financial access.

In countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon or Sierra Leone, the average transport worker cannot afford to pay upfront for a new EV, no matter how efficient or sustainable it is. Commercial lending rates can exceed 25%. Few have bank accounts, let alone credit scores. For them, clean mobility isn’t a future, it’s an unaffordable dream.

Yet these same individuals are responsible for moving people, goods, and economies every day. They are the drivers of Africa’s informal mobility sector, and they represent one of the biggest missed opportunities in climate-smart infrastructure.

Across Africa and beyond, new financing models are emerging.

These models are structured around the economic realities of the people they serve. Instead of expecting large upfront payments or perfect credit histories, they focus on flexibility, resilience, and accessibility.

Some institutions are aligning repayments with actual income flows, integrating insurance and maintenance, and using technology to assess creditworthiness in non-traditional ways. Others are embedding finance directly into transport ecosystems, creating seamless ownership experiences for riders.

These models are not just ideas, they’re working. Thousands of drivers are now generating steady income through EV operations. In many cases, EV users are earning up to 60% more than their petrol-powered peers. CO₂ emissions have been significantly reduced. And previously unbanked individuals are now part of formal financial systems.

Why traditional EV financing doesn’t work

It assumes borrowers have stable incomes. It assumes reliable data on creditworthiness. It assumes access to affordable capital. In much of the Global South, these assumptions don’t hold.

What works instead is a focus on affordability, making sure that clean transport isn’t just for the wealthy. It requires flexible repayment terms that reflect informal work patterns. It calls for simple user experiences that reduce friction. And it depends on building trust through behavioural insights, not bureaucratic gatekeeping. When finance is embedded into real-world usage, and designed around people’s daily realities, the results are transformative.

A global opportunity, led by the Global South

The lessons from Africa are relevant across Latin America, Southeast Asia, and underserved communities in North America. These places share common features: underbanked populations, high mobility demand, informal labour markets, and climate vulnerability.

The Global South is not lagging, it’s leading. Financing innovations being tested and proven in Africa show that climate solutions can emerge from places often overlooked by capital and policy. These models are not just viable, they’re exportable.

Governments need to create policy environments that support EV imports and inclusive financing. Development finance institutions must invest in locally grounded solutions with long-term capital. Investors need to rethink risk, and back models that combine financial return with social inclusion. And ecosystem players, from vehicle manufacturers to mobile network operators, must come together to co-create solutions that reach the last mile.

The way forward 

No single actor can solve this alone. But working together, a future of clean, affordable, and inclusive mobility is within reach.

If we don’t solve the financing problem, EVs will remain a luxury good, accessible only to the privileged. But with the right financing models, EVs can become tools of empowerment, climate resilience, and economic transformation.

Financing institutions have a crucial role to play. They can unlock the potential of clean mobility, not years from now, but today. Because when finance works for people, clean transport doesn’t just move us forward. It changes lives.

This article was first published by TechCabal.