West Africa is still lagging behind in the decarbonisation of its transport compared with East Africa, where the development of electric mobility has been booming since 2015. Aware of this, the Senegal-based start-up Mbay Mobility has set itself the goal of selling up to 33,000 electric taxis in the capital Dakar, as well as in Abidjan in Ivory Coast and Accra in Ghana.
The aim is to replace the combustion-powered vehicles used for intercity travel with low-pollution vehicles that are affordable both for the drivers (at the time of purchase) and for the passengers. The initiative should enable these three towns to become sub-regional hubs for ecomobility. For the moment, the company which has completed a pilot phase in Senegal (for 10 electric vehicles) in 2022 with the support of a local investor, is looking for financial partners to help it acquire and import the 33,000 e-taxis.
“The 16,000 taxis in Dakar represent less than 5% of the Senegalese car fleet, but contribute 40% of the pollution. We’ve tested our electric vehicle on the roads, it works well and the feedback has been phenomenal. The passengers love it, our driver loves it, and the savings are excellent”, explained Matthew Sellar, the CEO of Mbay Mobility in an interview with our colleagues at Social Net Link.
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It’s not a simple process, but one that will be phased in gradually until 2033. The start-up’s business model is based on bank loans and digital services offered to taxi owners. This strategy is a response to the growing competition in the electric vehicle market, particularly in Ghana. In Accra, for example, the SolarTaxi start-up has opted for partnerships with venture capital firms such as Persistent Energy Capital, which is financing the distribution of its fleet of electric taxis and bicycles.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi