What does a start-up company in a tiny African country have to do with greenhouse gas reduction, accessible transportation, and lower mass transit costs? If electric vehicles pop to mind, you’re right.
In a region where energy – be it petrol or electricity – can be expensive and hard to access, e-bike ownership has surged in Africa. For personal use, taxi service, deliveries and logistics, e-bikes are an affordable, climate-friendly mode of transport.
Ampersand is Rwanda’s largest electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer. Initially building out a battery-swap infrastructure around the capital of Kigali, the company now manufactures e-bikes that are priced to enable quick payoff by taxi drivers and other riders.
You’ll find e-bike taxis around Nairobi, Kenya, too, where Ampersand expanded last year. In a country where gas-powered bikes are common transportation, introducing e-bikes reduces both emissions and taxi ownership costs. The battery-swap system is quicker than waiting for a charging station.
Several other e-bike brands traverse Kenyan roads, including Roam, which is manufactured entirely in Nairobi.
In Nigeria, Salomon Mobility is manufacturing affordable e-bikes in its Abuja facility. Another e-bike company, SilTech, partnered with food delivery service Glovo around Lagos to streamline business with efficient vehicles and quick battery swap capabilities.
In Ethiopia, Dodai e-bikes are sweeping the commercial market and has even partnered with Ethiopost, the national postal service. The individual market is growing more slowly due to the price point, although the cost comes with the bonus of quicker e-bike registration than potential owners have come to expect. Dodai cuts through some of the typical red tape and delays with GPS technology that satisfies a registration requirement and gets bikes on the road faster.
The battery swap model of powering bikes has traction among manufacturers. With gaps in charging infrastructure, swapping a depleted battery for a full one in a matter of minutes appeals to riders. In fact, Ethiopia’s government is partnering with Dodai to invest in battery swap stations around the country – aiming for 300 of them by 2027.
Rwanda’s government also supports e-bike manufacture and exempts imported EVs from import taxes – as do Tunisia and Togo. A handful of other African countries have also reduced or eliminated import duties on EVs, including Ghana, Mauritius, and Zambia.
From the dispatch driver who now has viable employment in their remote village and the small business that can quickly deliver goods, to the manufacturing jobs provided and greenhouse gas emissions saved, e-bikes are creating their own wave of change around Africa.
Find country-specific information about EVs and sustainable transportation options in Living Abroad’s International Relocation Center destination reports.
Written by Ellen Harris, GMS, Product Manager, Content Group
