We dive into mobility CEO pay across Africa

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Electric motorcycle company Spiro has sold more than 35,000 vehicles in eight markets since its launch in 2022, the company’s CEO Kaushik Burman told Mobility Rising in an interview on Tuesday. Spiro’s biggest markets are Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria, Benin and Togo. Last month it entered Tanzania and Cameroon to accelerate sales further.

  • Spiro’s sales volume highlights the demand for electric motorcycles in Africa. This has attracted dozens of new startups to join the sector recently.

  • Electric motorcycles help riders cut costs by up to 30% compared to fuel motorcycles. Vehicles prices are also dropping steadily, widening the pool of buyers. 

  • Our take: The growth in sales by Spiro highlights the potential of electric motorcycles in Africa… Read more (2 min)

South Africa’s International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) has proposed a 15% customs duty on new energy vehicle battery imports to protect its local manufacturing industry. South Africa relies on battery imports, mainly from China. In 2024, it imported electric batteries worth $651 million, making it the country’s 20th largest import.  

  • The new tax will increase the cost of EVs in South Africa. Batteries account for a significant portion of the price of an EV.  

  • A recent study by South Africa’s Council for Mineral Technology shows the country has the resources and know-how to make lithium-ion batteries for EVs, which could create additional revenues of $890 million a year. 

  • Our take: Being short-term greedy or putting up protectionist trade barriers is not the way out of South Africa’s current crisis… Read more (2 min)

Top executives in African mobility companies earn an average minimum annual salary of $115,000, according to salary benchmarking conducted in partnership with Shortlist, a leading recruitment agency. Our data covers mid-sized mobility companies in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt, and it reflects compensation specifically for the top senior role in a company.

  • The average retention salary benchmark, which reflects pay needed to keep top talent in leadership roles over time, is $134,000 for a general management role.

  • Professional non-executive directors in the sector earn a minimum of $1,500 per year as a threshold rate. However, not all companies pay their non-execs.

  • Our take: Actual pay may vary depending on company-specific benefits or incentives not captured in the base salary figures… Read more (2 min)

Mbay Mobility founder Matthew Sellar (right) talks to delegates last week

 

Events

🗓️ Attend the general assembly of the African Organisation for Standardisation (June 23)

🗓️ Apply to join the finance case of e-mobility in Kenya webinar (June 25)

🗓️ Register for a carbon credits webinar hosted by Manufacturing Africa (July 2)

Jobs

💼 Manage business operations at MAX (Nigeria)

👨🏻‍💼 Become a Senior Strategy Manager at M-Kopa (Kenya)

👩🏻‍💼 Apply for the Quality Assurance Manager role at Rubicon (South Africa)

Various 

🤝🏻 Shift EV partners with Carrefour in Egypt

🏢 Spiro celebrates achieving 100+ swapping stations in Rwanda

🧲 Zeno's Emara motorcycle has already attracted 15,000 customers

Seen on LinkedIn 

Steven Sutherland, MD of Powerfleet Africa, says, “Africa’s logistics landscape is unique. It’s vast, often fragmented, and spans many regulatory and infrastructural disparities.”