While mobility start-ups in Kenya are worried about the cancellation of the Finance Bill 2024, which was supposed to provide for “the importation, local assembly or marketing of electric vehicles”, the climate is rather more serene for entrepreneurs in this sector in neighbouring Rwanda. Ampersand has even signed an agreement with the Chinese car manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD).
The agreement covers the expansion of the start-up’s electric motorbikes in East Africa. As part of the collaboration, which is expected to accelerate “the decarbonisation of the commercial motorbike transport system in Africa”, BYD will supply 40,000 lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells for Ampersand’s new e-motorbikes by 2026.
“The transition from two-wheeled delivery vehicles to electric vehicle energy technology represents one of the most cost-effective opportunities in the world. At the same time, this transformation will save millions of hard-working motorcyclists $600 a year, promoting clean economic prosperity,” explains Josh Whale, Ampersand’s CEO.
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This new fleet will certainly make a difference among the 30 million fuel-powered motorbikes currently on the road on the African continent. But the challenge is a tough one, as Ampersand is not the only company working with BYD in Africa. The Kenyan company Associated Vehicle Assemblers (AVA) assembles 130 of the Chinese brand’s electric vehicles. So Ampersand’s speciality may lie elsewhere, particularly in the additional solutions it offers drivers. The Kigali and Nairobi-based start-up claims to exchange at least 140,000 batteries a month.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi