Top bus operator taps $12.5m loan to electrify fleet

September 17, 2025

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Egypt’s first privately-owned inter-city bus company Go Bus has secured a loan of €10.6 million ($12.5 million) from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to launch an electric bus fleet. Go Bus will renew its fleet by acquiring 30 new inter-city buses, as well as six electric micro-buses for shorter routes and three other EVs for intra-city journeys.

  • Go Bus was established in 1998 and is owned by the Fady Nassif family. The firm currently operates 29 routes throughout Egypt, including 16 originating from Cairo and serving approximately 1.9 million passengers annually.  

  • This week, Egypt inaugurated a modern electric bus production line belonging to MCV. The project was established with investments of EGP 3 billion ($62 million) and has a production capacity of up to 1,200 electric buses annually. 

  • Our take: Concessional financing can fast-track fleet operators onboarding electric buses… Read more (2 min)

UK-based electric mobility startup OX Delivers has signed a deal with Ghana’s Wahu Mobility that will see it enter the West African market. OX makes electric trucks while Wahu assembles electric motorcycles. In a statement, the UK company said the two firms will partner on manufacturing, technology development, and exploring the use of EVs for agriculture.

  • OX makes electric trucks specifically designed to handle the unpaved roads common in rural Africa. The company does flat-pack shipping most commonly associated with Swedish furniture giant IKEA to lower assembly costs. 

  • Millions of traders in Africa incur huge costs to transport goods to markets due to high fuel costs. That is boosting the popularity of EVs, especially electric motorcycles and tricycles.  

  • Our take: With rising assembly costs in Africa, we should expect to see more new market players riding on existing production facilities… Read more (2 min)

Electric two-wheelers, mainly motorcycles, scooters and bicycles, make up 44% of Africa’s EV market, according to a detailed new report by the Africa E-Mobility Alliance. Tanzania leads with over 10,000 units already on the road, though most still rely on lead-acid batteries, highlighting an opportunity for companies offering lithium-ion alternatives.

  • The affordability of lead-acid scooters has been the main driver of customer adoption in Tanzania. With financing options such as DEEM Finance, lithium-ion models could become more accessible and competitive.

  • Electric vehicle adoption in Africa is largely commercial, with 60–80% of urban residents depending on shared or public transport. However, Tanzania lags in faster adoption as scooters are mainly used for private transport.

  • Our take: Tanzania must strengthen its EV regulatory framework to attract investments… Read more (2 min)

Nigeria’s electric mobility association officials visit ZOOMe offices

Events

📅 Attend a webinar on how can youth tap into e-mobility (Sep 18)

📅 Book a slot at the Sustainable Financing Models webinar (Sep 24)

📅 Register for Renewable Energy Forum Africa happening in Ghana (Dec 3)

Jobs

👨‍✈️ Join MAX as a Driver Experience Manager (Nigeria)

🛵 Become a Junior Logistics Officer at Dodai (Ethiopia)

💼 Apply for ESG Coordination Officer’s role at Watu Credit (Tanzania)

Various 

🏍️ Spiro opens a new retail and service centre in Togo

⚡ India’s Servotech enters Mauritius EV charging market

🔌 DBSA invests R100m in Zero Carbon Charge for EV charging

Seen on LinkedIn 

William Kelly, a South African EV commentator, says, “We (South Africans) are asleep at the wheel and the symptoms of our OEMs asking for a 5% increase in import duties on cars in the name of saving jobs will be spun in ways that reflect the disease.”