Backed by investment firm InfraCo Africa and EEP Africa, EkoRent Africa is launching Nopea SolarHub with the support of Strathmore University (SU) Research Center in Nairobi. The partnership is to set up solar powered charging stations for NopeaRide's electric cars in Kenya.
Combining clean energy and electric mobility. This is the objective of the Finnish company EkoRent, specialized in mobility. Its subsidiary EkoRent Africa will have a network of electric car charging stations at Strathmore University (SU) in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Through a partnership agreement, the two entities aim to set up solar-powered electric car charging stations for chauffeured transportation vehicles offered by NopeaRide, a service operated by EkoRent Africa.
For Juha Suojanen, founder and CEO of EkoRent, this cooperation with the University of Strathmore’s Energy Research Center is about finding local solutions to further promote clean mobility in Kenya and Africa. “Since Kenya is located on the equator and ideal for harvesting clean solar energy, it has great potential to lead efforts toward zero-emission transportation in Africa,” explains Juha Suojanen.
In this venture, EkoRent Africa is supported by EEP Africa and InfraCo Africa, an investment company of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG).
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The new charging station network will be operational by mid-2022 and will enable electric vehicles to further contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions in Kenyan transportation. “The SolarHub charging station for NopeaRide’s fleet of electric cabs will reduce traffic pollution and increase income for drivers in Nairobi while serving as a model for clean and affordable transportation solutions across Africa,” says Lotta Wilkman, portfolio coordinator at EEP Africa.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
