What do Indian hires say about Spiro’s growth strategy?

From the newsletter

Spiro, Africa’s leading electric motorcycle company, has hired more senior employees in India than in any other African market except Benin, a potential pointer to the firm’s growth plan. Analysis by Mobility Rising shows that Spiro has 431 senior staff, out of which 218 were hired over the last 12 months. This is based on data from LinkedIn. 

• Spiro began operations in Benin and Togo, West Africa, in May 2022. The company has since expanded to five more markets in Africa, namely Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria and Ghana. While Spiro plans further expansion in Africa, it is making a splash in India, the world’s largest country whose population is nearly on par with that of the African continent.

• The EV firm now has 96 workers in India, 62 of which joined in the last 12 months, highlighting Spiro’s growth strategy. This may mean India is becoming Spiro’s largest market by workforce, only behind Benin where it has 107 employees but more than Togo where the company has 74 staff. Others include Kenya (57), Nigeria (33), Rwanda (29), and United Arab Emirates (5). 

More details

• Spiro has made major strides forward since its establishment three years ago. The company emerged second only behind Tesla in the Mobility Rising Index, which ranked Africa’s top EV firms based on eight key parameters. They include the total number of staff and sales staff, increase in overall staff and sales staff, number of countries of operation, the experience and tenure of staff at the company, and their level of education.

• The company is making major investments in local electric motorcycle plants on the continent. It has medium-sized assembly plants in Benin and Togo, but has since opened a larger plant in Kenya with a capacity to produce 50,000 motorcycles annually. It plans to complete a similar plant in Uganda and a bigger one in Nigeria with a capacity of 100,000 motorcycles, which would be the largest in Africa.

• These investments have led to a hiring spree at the company in the key departments, namely sales, engineering and operations. Spiro has so far hired 87 people to help it grow sales, more than any other department. It further has 72 workers in its engineering department and 64 in operations. However, the company’s fastest growing functions are research, quality assurance and product management, indicating its growing maturity. 

• It is however Spiro’s recent foray into India, where it plans to introduce its electric motorcycles, that is raising eyebrows. The company has been preparing its entry into India for a while. In January 2024, it opened a Global technology Centre in Pune, a city in India’s Maharashtra State. In November 2024, the company appointed Indian e-bike manufacturer PG Electroplast Ltd as its exclusive manufacturing partner in the country.  

• Spiro mainly imports Completely-Knocked-Down (CKD) kits from India for local assembly. It appears that the company plans to replicate its fast rise in Africa in India, which has strong demand for motorcycles. Spiro will however face stiff competition in India. The country has more than 380 EV manufacturers. 78 of them make electric motorcycles. 

• Besides India, Spiro has not yet indicated any plans to join another market outside Africa. But within Africa, the company is already eyeing expansion in a number of markets, including Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Cameroon where it sees significant potential for electric motorcycles. 

Our take

• The war for talent in Africa’s electric mobility industry is intensifying, as rivals raid their competitors for top talent. In our analysis, Spiro has for instance raided a number of talents from its competitor Roam in the last 12 months. This was for top talent in the industry is expected to continue across Africa, which still lacks enough high quality EV professionals. 

• As Africa’s EV sector is flooded by new market players, quality will increasingly become a selling point. Research and quality assurance jobs could thus see a boom in the coming years. Quality assurance guarantees that EVs meet safety standards and perform reliably under local conditions. This builds consumer trust and accelerates adoption, especially in markets like Africa where there is still skepticism about new technologies. 

• The simultaneous expansion in Africa and India suggests that Spiro could be building the foundation for a global strategy. This might involve leveraging India as a hub for technology and innovation while expanding their reach across Africa to solidify their dominance in the electric motorcycle market.