Kenya is leading Africa’s mobility revolution as electric vehicles, backed by supportive government policy, drive cleaner transport, new industries, and inclusive economic growth.
A new electric bike rolls off the assembly line every seven minutes. A dollop of grease is put in the steering column. The wheels are put in place, and a thorough all-points inspection is conducted. By the time that happens, the worker who first applied the grease has already moved on to two other electric bikes.
It could be China. It could be Italy. It could be a new segment for Tesla’s Elon Musk. However, this state-of-the-art manufacturing center is situated on Old Mombasa Road in Nairobi, Kenya.
At its maximum capacity, the facility could produce 100,000 bikes per year. Spiro has built one of Africa’s largest electric vehicle (EV) fleets across eight countries. Over 35,000 have been produced so far this year, surpassing 20 million battery swaps and over 600 battery swapping stations.
Green Industrialization, Made in Africa
Spiro stands at the forefront, championing a locally rooted, globally competitive model of green industrialization.
The spread of EVs in many countries has been a revelation. In Africa, a mobility revolution is underway. The youngest continent in the world, with a rapidly urbanizing population, is demanding more flexible transport solutions.
In Nigeria, companies such as Siltech and Metro Africa Xpress (MAX) are not only deploying electric vehicles but also producing the vehicles locally.
Favorable government policies have helped. In Rwanda, the government has incentivized the shift to electric vehicles, aiming to convert 30 percent of public motorbike taxis to fully electric versions by 2030. Furthermore, all new bike taxisin the country as of this year must be electric.
The Power of the Bike
Electric bikes are perhaps most important in East Africa. The region is the second most densely populated of Africa’s subregions after West Africa. It also has a strong tradition of motorcycle taxis. The region’s numerous “boda boda” taxis are descended from bicycle taxis, which once connected two disparate border posts on the Kenyan-Uganda border.
Chinese firms dominate global EV supply chains, and African governments and startups are beginning to hedge their bets. The strategy? Build or assemble locally if possible and source more widely.
Tariffs are in focus in many countries in Africa, just as they are elsewhere in the world. As in the United States, part of the concern centers on China’s role in critical supply chains.
Kenya’s Strategic Position
Kenya will play a key role in this effort to reduce reliance on external powers such as China. That’s because Kenya’s location makes it the “Singapore of Africa,” a nexus for trade and development in the region.
A Kenyan official said that while China has been an essential partner, no country wants to be overdependent on a single supplier, especially for something as strategic as energy and mobility.
China is also the world’s largest communist country, which is a concern for an increasing number of countries in Africa.
Kenya hosted an Africa Climate Summit in 2023 as part of the Conference of Parties (COP)28. Although the summit was supposed to be an annual event, no subsequent events for the following COPs have been held. Speaking at the event in Nairobi on August 4, 2023, Kenyan President William Ruto made a link between climate change and investment: “Our strategic proximity to substantial reserves of metals and minerals necessary for the global energy transition makes Africa an attractive candidate to become a global hub in the green industrial supply chain, from refining metals and minerals to constructing and assembling electric vehicle batteries and other components.”
Promoting Local Action
Ruto pointed out that for electric vehicles, the African industry could be netting some $7 trillion annually, far more than the $11 billion it is currently earning. The Kenyan president even drove a small electric car to a youth climate event.
Ruto also championed the cause of African Green Industrialization. A closed-door follow-up event attended by your correspondent in New York in September drew an intriguing list of African ministers, diplomats, United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and even Hollywood actor Edward Norton.
Kenya isn’t just talking the talk but also taking action. Nairobi is increasingly serviced by electric buses, in line with the country’s emissions goals. Some 50 companies are involved in the EV space in Kenya.
Kenya is one of the most advanced and integrated in the environmental space. Thanks to the unique geology of the Great Rift Valley, the country is a regional geothermal superpower.
More than Sustainability: A Workforce Shift
“There is a concern we are seeing in a lot of markets about China in the value chains,” said Hans Van Toor. Van Toor works with Roam—formerly known as Opibus—which initially made its mark electrifying existing buses.
He spoke with your correspondent in one of his buses, which, except perhaps for its bright color scheme, wouldn’t seem out of place in his native Netherlands.
Electric vehicles are becoming an increasingly larger part of mobility in Kenya. However, electric vehicles aren’t just about sustainability—they’re also opening new career paths to women, similar to how the internal combustion engine (ICE) revolution opened up new opportunities for women in the workplace. However, just as men dominated horse-drawn mobility, they soon dominated the ICE revolution as well—from bus drivers to the busy mechanics keeping the engines turning.
Women in the EV Economy
The switch to Electric vehicles is revolutionary, partly due to the role of women as well. Women make up as much as 38 percent of jobs in the EV space in Kenya, according to a recent United Nations report, although they account for only a paltry five percent of “boda boda” riders. In Africa, EVs have enabled a re-evaluation of the role of gender in the value chain, with women assuming a more equal role. For example, Spiro unveiled its first all-female motor assembly production line just last year.
Bikes remain central to this transformation and offer a mobility revolution, energy access, and business opportunities. Spiro’s electric bikes can fuel small and medium enterprise (SME) growth, creating entrepreneurial opportunities in battery swapping stations, after-sales services, dealership of motorbikes, and much more.
“After serving their time on the road, our batteries get a second life in energy storage,” said Spiro Group CEO Kaushik Burman in an interview. “We’ve already put this into practice—in Nigeria, used batteries from Benin are powering swap stations during blackouts.”
About the Author: Joseph Hammond
Joseph Hammond is a journalist and former Fulbright Public Policy fellow with the government of Malawi. He has reported from four continents on topics ranging from the Arab Spring to the M23 rebellion in the Eastern Congo, with bylines in Newsweek, The Washington Post, Forbes.com, and more.
Image: Photosite/Shutterstock
