More Good Electric 2- & 3-Wheeler News From East & West Africa

Sign up for CleanTechnica’s Weekly Substack for Zach and Scott’s in-depth analyses and high level summaries, sign up for our daily newsletter, and/or follow us on Google News!

Several companies across a number of countries on the African continent have put in a lot of work over the past 7 years or so to establish and grow their electric mobility firms. Following a series of pilot projects and several iterations of their products incorporating key learnings from those pilots, a number of these companies are now in the early stages of commercial rollouts of their products. To really scale to the levels required to support production of their products, a lot of capital is needed, which is why I always get excited when these companies announce the success of some of their funding rounds. This also shows that funders and venture capitalists are now keen to put some significant money into Arica’s nascent electric mobility sector. Quite a number of the companies that have raised some significant capital are companies focusing on electric motorcycles and to some extent, electric tricycles. This is because the electric motorcycle sector presents a large addressable market, driven mostly by the motorcycle taxi industry.

We have some good news from Ghana. Kofa, leading technology-driven energy company and end-to-end ecosystem enabler, has just closed an $8.1 million pre-Series A funding round. The investment, comprising $3.25 million in equity, $4.315 million in debt, and $590,000 in grants, will fuel the company’s expansion and supercharge its AI-powered battery-swapping network, delivering reliable, clean energy solutions to urban Africa, starting in Ghana and Kenya.

The round was co-led by E3 Capital, one of Africa’s largest early-stage climate-tech venture capital funds, and Injaro Investment Advisors, a Ghanaian private capital fund manager, with both providing equity. Shell Foundation contributed to the raise through catalytic debt and grant, co-funded with the UK government through its Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform. The fund also features backing from high-profile European angel investors in the battery industry, including Richard Thwaites, founder of Penso Power, one of Europe’s leading grid-scale battery businesses, acquired by BW Group in Oct 2024, who brings strategic insights into the battery sector.

This funding round will accelerate Kofa’s expansion into three major cities across West and East Africa. It will also fast-track the development of its proprietary AI-driven battery management platform, a game-changing differentiator crucial for optimizing and scaling its network to efficiently manage millions of batteries.

Since its inception in 2022, Kofa has rapidly become a driving force in the clean energy sector. The company has developed a swappable battery network that provides reliable, clean energy for motorcycles, households, and small businesses. Leveraging its cutting-edge technology and proprietary Internet of Things (IoT) system — which tracks battery usage, predicts demand, and optimizes energy distribution — Kofa now facilitates over 200 battery swaps daily, achieving a 99% charge rate with an average swap time of under two minutes, saving time, reducing fuel costs, and keeping businesses running reliably.

As an end-to-end enabler, Kofa designs market-specific products and licenses its intellectual property to key industry players. This is exemplified through its partnership with TailG, a global OEM, to mass-produce Kofa’s electric motorcycle design, which developed with direct user input, making it one of the first fully bottom-up electric motorcycle designs for Africa. Operating under a technology-first, asset-light model, Kofa is reshaping the future of energy by leveraging a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to finance critical infrastructure such as batteries and swap stations, ensuring scalable growth, while also partnering with trusted distributors like AutoPax in Kenya and soon to be announced partnerships in Ghana to expand market reach.

Kofa’s battery swapping network also supports stationary storage. The need for reliable, sustainable energy is critical across Africa, where backup generators currently provide up to 40% of electricity in some parts of Africa, and motorcycles consume 40-60 billion liters of petrol annually, producing about 10 times more hydrocarbon emissions per kilometer. Kofa is tackling this challenge with a clean energy network designed to transition urban productivity away from fossil fuel dependency.

One thing we have noticed is that most of this development and deployment of electric motorcycles was in the major cities, if not the capital cities only. This is understandable, as startups had to manage their ramp-up wisely, taking into account available resources. The good news is that as these startups begin to scale, we are now seeing them expand their operations to more towns and cities outside of these capital cities. In some exciting news, Roam, one of Kenya’s leading electric mobility companies, has officially expanded its operations to Machakos County, further strengthening its commitment to building a robust electric transport ecosystem beyond Nairobi. Following the successful launch of Roam Shop – Thika in Thika Town, Kiambu County, in November 2024, this new Machakos outlet marks the next step in Roam’s ambitious nationwide expansion plan for 2025. Strategically located at the newly opened TotalEnergies Mua View Service Station, 6 km from Machakos Town along the Kitui Road, the outlet will bring Roam’s innovative electric mobility solutions closer to the community.

The Roam Shop – Machakos will offer sales of Roam Air electric motorcycles, Roam Air battery charging and rental services, after-sales support, and dedicated customer service for the region. The Machakos location adds to Roam’s expanding cooperation with TotalEnergies, which already hosts four Roam Hubs, including Lusaka Road, Karambee in Juja Road, Waiyaki Way, and Outer Ring Road, showcasing how petrol stations are evolving to support clean mobility solutions.

Machakos is renowned for its rugged and elevated terrain, including landmarks like Iveti Hills and Kituluni Hill, where water famously appears to flow uphill. To ensure the Roam Air motorcycle could thrive in such a demanding landscape, Roam deployed five units for hands-on test rides across boda boda stages in the area.

Roam says riders have reported outstanding performance even under full loads, thanks to the Roam Air’s 240 kg payload capacity and 58 Nm peak torque. Built with African riders in mind, the Roam Air embodies Roam’s design philosophy: “Designed in Africa, for Africa.”

Machakos riders can charge their Roam Air batteries at home for about KES 80, providing a range of 80–100 km per charge, depending on the driving mode. In comparison, covering the same distance with an internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycle typically requires around 3 liters of fuel, currently priced at KES 175 per liter, according to the Energy & Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA). Riders using the Roam Air’s dual-battery feature can cover 160–200 km on a full charge. Those with a single battery can visit the new Roam Hub in Machakos Town to rent a charged battery for KES 20 per hour, helping them avoid downtime.

To make Roam Air more accessible, Roam has brought in financing partners, including M-Kopa, 4G Capital, Mogo, and Watu Credit, offering flexible payment plans starting from as little as a KES 10,000 deposit and KES 460 in daily installments.

One of the major activities that drives adoption is raising awareness of electric mobility at key events and roadshows. We need a whole lot of customer awareness and education programs to catalyze adoption of electric mobility in this part of the world. Some other nice news from Kenya is that, as part of its ongoing customer and stakeholder engagement programs, Car & General displayed its Piaggio electric three-wheeler at the two-day conference and exhibition by the Electric Sector Association of Kenya (ESAK) held between April 16 and 17, 2025 at the Trademark Hotel, Nairobi. The event comes at a time when Kenya’s Commercial and Industrial (C&I) sector is experiencing rapid transformation driven by the increasing demand for reliable, cost effective and environmentally friendly energy solutions. Solar PV and EVs are match made in heaven given the key synergies and therefore this was a key event to highlight their electric three-wheelers.

Car & General introduced the Piaggio Ape electric vehicles in the Kenyan market in February 2024. The vehicles offer optimum value for customers through better range, grade ability, and load carrying capacity, as well as providing a competitive total cost of ownership. Car & General pioneered the use of three-wheelers as taxis in East Africa in 2002.

The Piaggio electric vehicle has superior driving range, and a 12” tire size offering better ground clearance and improved grade ability. Available as a fixed battery solution, a swappable battery solution will be available at the right time. The advanced battery performance results in a longer run, enhanced earnings and effective cost of ownership. The passenger version can go for 145 kilometers while the cargo one can do 115 kilometers per charge.

With minimal maintenance costs, one year warranty, advanced technology, and long range, the Piaggio electric three-wheelers will definitely maximize the earnings of its customers. Advanced telematics give drivers better navigation and allows fleet owners to track and manage their fleet efficiently.

George Rubiri, the General Manager for Car & General (Trading) Limited, said, “Car & General is committed to making our customers smile in every street, in every town with our quality products and after-sales services. Piaggio electric three-wheelers provides path-breaking last-mile transport solutions as we lead Kenya’s three wheeler EV mission.”

E-mobility and green energy solutions uptake will cut down emissions, thus alleviating challenges of climate change.