Ampersand has signed an agreement with the British solar home systems provider Bboxx. The two companies will collaborate on the development of green mobility through the deployment of electric motorbikes in Rwanda.
In Rwanda, British solar home systems provider Bboxx is partnering with Kigali-based mobility start-up Ampersand to boost sales of its electric motorbikes. The two-wheelers will be financed by Bboxx through its mobile payment solutions, including Bboxx’s Pulse app. This is a fully integrated pay-as-you-drive operating system that streamlines the business operations of Ampersand’s customers.
According to the two partners, the partnership aims to develop an alternative to the use of combustion-powered vehicles by allowing drivers to save up to 40% on the purchase of their e-motorbikes. Ultimately, this will contribute to the reduction of 4.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2030 in Rwanda.
“Bboxx’s experience in structuring financing instruments, including the rising tide of climate capital, will help us focus more on building the bikes and batteries, expanding our exchange network and creating the software,” says Ampersand.
The expansion of electric mobility
The start-up, which was founded in 2019, claims to have 35,000 battery swaps per month and a fleet of around 620 electric motorbikes spread across East Africa, where it wants to conquer the regional market for green mobility. In Kenya, for example, Ampersand recently partnered with the Kenyan subsidiary of French oil company TotalEnergies to install three charging stations at its Hurlingham, Dagoretti and Mountain View stations. These will provide power to the batteries of electric motorbike drivers in the capital Nairobi.
Read also-KENYA: 3 TotalEnergies stations to swap Ampersand’s electric batteries
“With Ampersand, we will together increase access to sustainable mobility in Africa. This is an exciting opportunity for both our companies as we share the same challenges including achieving all the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” said Mansoor Hamayun, CEO and co-founder of Bboxx. The London, UK-based company is active in several African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where it has begun construction of a hybrid solar mini-power station in Bagira in South Kivu province in the second half of 2022. The installation will provide electricity to 150,000 people.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
