We’ve ranked African mobility companies & countries

From the newsletter

Kenya was the leading electric mobility market in Africa over the past month, an analysis by Mobility Rising shows. We rank nations based on ten key parameters, namely the number and cumulative size of factories, number and impact of policies, funding deals, size and type, number of events, number of jobs advertised, and number of top ten companies in the sector. 

• Competition in Africa’s electric mobility sector went a notch higher in the last month as EV firms, backed by growing revenues and capital raises, increased their hiring.   

• Our rankings are based on proprietary sources, including Mobility Rising staff based in locations across the continent, as well as public sources such as LinkedIn.

More details

• With a score of 2,250, Kenya topped by having the highest number of advertised jobs in the sector during the period (17), high funding amount received ($5 million) and joint highest number of EV firms in our top 10 ranking of companies (4). On the policy front, Kenya proposed two major policies related to EVs. However these proposed tax increases on EVs will be detrimental to the sector, which denied Kenya from earning an even higher score in our ranking. 

• Uganda and Rwanda emerged joint second in our ranking with a score of 1,700. Uganda’s ranking was mainly driven by the high number of advertised roles in the sector (14), number of firms in the top ten of our ranking (2) and funding raised by Kampala-based Gogo Electric. Rwanda had four companies in our top ten ranking, the joint highest with Kenya, and also had two major policies that will significantly benefit the EV industry. 

• Nigeria (1,502), Egypt (1,357), South Africa (1,055) and Ethiopia (1,000) also booked a spot in our top ten country ranking. Other countries that made it are Tunisia (501), Ghana (500) and Tanzania (400). The countries that dropped out from our ranking in May are Cameroon and Morocco. 

• In our company's ranking, US-based EV giant Tesla topped again as it continued its hiring spree over the past month with a score of 16,411. Tesla remains the largest employer in the electric mobility industry in Africa, with its total number of employees based in Africa totals 1,371, according to analysis of LinkedIn data. It also has the widest footprint, spread across more than 30 countries, and the highest level of education (59% of its top workers have masters degrees). 

• With a score of 5,186, electric motorcycle company Spiro emerged second. The company, which is in eight African markets, has been expanding aggressively, and had 378 senior workers listed on LinkedIn. It has been recruiting significantly in recent months, with its workforce increasing by 173 employees between June 2024 and June 2025. The company is preparing a fresh capital raise to further fuel its expansion drive. 

• Chinese EV manufacturer BYD made it into our ranking with a score of 3,007, followed by Ampersand (2,550), Max (2,402) and BasiGo (2,136). Others are MellowVans (2,021), Mbay Mobility (1,895) and Kiira Motors Corporation (1,770). Roam Electric, Gogo Electric and Shift EV dropped out of the top ten firms from our May ranking. 

Our take

• Kenya's momentum could be solidified with the implementation of pro-EV policies and reversal or adjustment of proposed tax increases. Failure to do so could see it lose its top spot to Rwanda or Uganda, which are gaining ground with strong company presence and supportive policy frameworks.

• As Africa’s EV startups scale and hiring surges, especially at senior levels, competition for experienced talent will increase. We may see more poaching between top EV companies, higher salaries, and expansion of training programs to build local capacity.

• Following Tesla, BYD and Spiro's aggressive strategies, more global EV players are likely to target Africa for expansion, bringing in new investment rounds, product launches, and possibly local assembly deals.