Uber Uganda taps electric motorcycles

November 04, 2025

Dear subscriber,

You can pay $10 for a petrol bike on your next Uber ride or $9 for an electric bike. Like it has done in Kenya, Uber is offering customers elsewhere a new choice. Happy riding! 

Brian Ambani - Editor

Online ride hailing company Uber has introduced an electric motorcycle service in Uganda’s capital Kampala. Uber made the announcement to its customers by email. “We’re excited to announce that Uber is expanding its electric boda product offering to Kampala,” it said. Uganda joins Kenya and South Africa as the markets in Africa where Uber has the EV service.

  • Ride hailing companies are racing to onboard electric bikes to boost their market shares. They charge lower prices on EV rides. In Kenya, an electric bike ride on Uber and Bolt are up to 10% cheaper, making them popular.   

  • Africa’s ride-hailing market is expected to reach $3.21 billion in revenue by 2030. EV companies will benefit from this boom through increased sales, with EVs offering taxi operators lower operating costs and hence better returns. 

  • Our take: Introducing an electric car service should be the next step for online taxi companies… Read more (2 min)

As we revealed yesterday, Africa’s EV sector raised $119.5 million in funding in October, the highest so far this year. But who are the faces behind the four startups that raised the money? To recap, Spiro raised $100 million, while South African company maxwell+spark raised $15 million. Kenya’s Enzi Mobility got $3.5 million, while Uganda’s Gogo received $1 million. 

  • Investors are handing capital to large, proven operators like Spiro. To learn their stories of success, please click the link at the end of this story.  

  • Big shoutout to: Mansoor Ali Khan and Yasmeen Jawaharali. Clinton Bemont and Matthew Woods. Bill Schafer. Jakob Hornbach and Ben Lokeris Koriang. 

  • Here is more about them… Read more (2 min)

Africa’s electric mobility revolution won’t happen by chance. It must be deliberately planned, financed and led by policymakers, says Morris Oguna, a credit officer at Watu Credit. Achieving this vision, he says, requires coherent policies that connect transport, energy, and industry. The continent risks replacing oil dependency with lithium dependency, he adds.

  • Mr Oguna has five years of experience in the financing industry, driving accessible mobility solutions across the continent.

  • The true opportunity in the EV sector lies in building African capacity, from battery assembly to software innovation, powered by local energy and talent, says Mr Oguna. 

  • Click here to see the full opinion… (2 min)

 EV experts discussing in a panel in Ethiopia (Source: Alex Munene)

Jobs

💰 Become a sales lead at Greenwheels Africa (Ghana)

👷🏻‍♀️ Apply for Quality Engineer's role at Spiro (Rwanda)

👩🏻‍💼 Max seeks a Collection Officer (Nigeria)

Events

📅 Register for End-User Perspective on Electric Vehicles in Uganda webinar (Nov 6)

📅 Attend the E-Mobility and Infrastructure Africa Summit in Kenya (Nov 26)

📅 Register for the EV Revolution Africa Conference in Ghana (Dec 3)

Various 

📄 Somalia car import regulations 2025: Full buyer's guide

🚌 LAMATA plans to have 10,000 electric buses in its fleet

⚡ Morocco's strategic entry into the global EV market

Seen on LinkedIn 

Omondi Isaiah, Head of Operations at Biliti Electric, says, “For a finished CBU, the statutory tax burden is substantial. By moving to the preferential CKD model, the operation can bypass high CBU duties and potentially secure a 0% VAT and Excise Duty on the components.”