Uganda’s top electric motorcycle startup secures $3m funding

From the newsletter

Gogo Electric, a leading motorcycle company based in Kampala, Uganda, has secured $3 million in equity funding from the state-owned Uganda Development Bank (UDB) to scale operations. Formerly known as Bodawerk, Gogo says it will use the investment from UDB to expand its local EV manufacturing and assembly capacity to meet growing demand.   

• UDB’s funding to Gogo is the fourth largest in Africa’s mobility sector in 2025 so far, and comes nearly a year after the firm raised a $1.6 million venture round in May 2024. Other startups in the sector that have raised more capital than Gogo this year include Togo’s Gozem ($30 million), Egypt’s Taager ($6.8 million), and Kenya’s Leta ($5 million).  

• Gogo’s latest funding round comes at a time when insufficient capital has been the main headache for electric mobility startups in Uganda, which has limited their ability to invest in critical infrastructure such as charging and battery swapping stations. The lack of this infrastructure has contributed to the slow pace of EV adoption in Uganda. 

More details

• Founded in 2017, Gogo is a pioneer of Uganda’s electric mobility, targeting the booming motorcycle taxi industry, locally known as bodaboda. These taxis are a major mode of transport in Uganda (it is estimated that Uganda has more than 1.2 million motorcycle taxis).

• The company has established over 60 battery swapping stations across Uganda, allowing riders to exchange depleted batteries for fully charged ones in under two minutes. This minimises downtime and enables riders to get back on the road quickly. It is also the only EV firm specialising in lithium-ion battery assembly in the region. 

• Uganda’s motorcycle taxi sector is booming, with thousands of new motorcycles purchased annually. This has attracted a growing number of firms to the sector aiming to scale electric motorcycles, which are proving to be more economical than their petrol-powered counterparts. Besides Gogo, other major players include Spiro, Africa’s largest electric motorcycle company, and Zembo. 

• Demand for electric motorcycles is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. Uganda's reliance on imported fuel makes prices volatile. But electric motorcycles reduce operating costs by up to 40–60%, which is expected to attract more Ugandans. EV startups aim to capitalise on this, with Spiro planning to establish a factory in Kampala with a capacity of 50,000 electric motorcycles annually.

• It is due to this potential that the Ugandan government seeks to promote its EV sector, which promises to create thousands of new jobs. Uganda has introduced recent measures to achieve this, including tax incentives for EV imports, plans for solar-powered charging stations, and collaborations with regional bodies like the East African Community (EAC) to harmonize e-mobility standards.

• Uganda has comparatively cheaper electricity prices compared to its neighbours like Kenya, which should give it an advantage in adopting electric mobility. However, major stumbling blocks remain, especially the high cost of EVs. This has led to the introduction of models such as Pay-As-You-Go to enable buyers to pay for EVs as they use them. The East African country has also been slow in adopting policies to support the growth of the sector. 

Our take

• Funding to a tune of $3 million is significant, especially for a startup in Uganda. With this equity funding, Gogo Electric can scale its manufacturing and battery-swapping infrastructure, addressing one of the critical barriers to electric motorcycle adoption. 

• DFIs like UDB can play a major role in Africa’s budding EV sector. DFIs typically provide loans at lower interest rates compared to commercial banks. Their primary goal is to support development and economic growth rather than maximizing profits. They also usually offer longer repayment periods, making it easier for businesses to manage cash flow and repay loans over time. 

• An increasing number of EV firms such as Spiro are expanding their operations in multiple African countries. For countries within the East African Community (EAC), regional collaboration could foster harmonized standards and attract further investments from both private and public sectors into the EV industry.