Electric vehicles were once again the centre of attraction in the tech space last month when front runner, Tesla Inc.’s value surged beyond the $1 trillion mark, making it the fifth company in the world to achieve that feat after Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet.
A $4 billion deal to sell 100,000 vehicles to the rental car company Hertz, skyrocketed the company’s shares in the single-largest purchase ever for electric vehicles, representing a $4.2 billion in revenue for Tesla. With this accomplishment, Tesla has shown that while clean energy is sustainable and necessary to manage climate change, it is also profitable when designed with a vision.
While large parts of Africa still suffer from epileptic power supply, the continent still hosts innovators and startups looking to reduce carbon emissions through creative clean energy mobility solutions.
The race for Africa’s electric vehicle (EV) space has already begun. Despite the many deterring challenges like poor power generation and infrastructure on the continent, some players have nonetheless, decided to be pioneers of the industry.
Here are 6 electric vehicle companies in Africa to look out for;
JET Motors
Founded in 2018 by Chidi Ajaere and a team of passionate professionals, JET Motors Company wants to accelerate Africa’s dominance in the future of mobility by reshaping the narrative of the mobility space.
In 2019, JET launched its flagship brand, the JET MOVER, a multipurpose van to push the adoption of locally made vehicles.
Explaining why JET decided to start with vans, Mr Joseph says that in Nigeria and Africa in general, a greater percentage of the population depends on commercial vehicles. As such, the JET Mover was aimed at helping people move efficiently via this common means of transportation.
However, this is not the core of the company goal. It revealed that it has a lofty mission to lead Africa into a new era of mobility. According to Mr Chidi, this means leading Africa to the new world of electric vehicles.
BasiGo
Based in Nairobi, BasiGo has a vision to create the future of clean electric public transit in Africa. Founded by Jit Bhattacharya and Jonathan Green, the company recently raised $1 pre-seed round to commence operations in Kenya. The startup plans to sell locally assembled electric buses using parts from China’s EV maker BYD Automotive.
The company has a goal to expand to other markets within the East Africa region after establishing in Kenya. BasiGo is backed by a number of investors including Climate Capital, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, and Third Derivative, an accelerator focused on climate-technology
SolarTaxi
The Solar Taxi Initiative is a project focused on manufacturing solar-enabled electric vehicles for transportation in Ghana. Launched in September 2018, Ghana’s Solar Taxi project was powered by Kumasi Hive in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation with a vision to alleviate poverty, create employment and protect the environment.
Solar Taxi currently produces electric cars and electric bikes which can be used for delivery and courier services. The company also provides integrated fleet management services to businesses with an interactive dashboard and mobile app for Taxi Driver and Taxi App – for riders.
Siltech World
Image: Siltech World Bike
Siltech is a renewable energy solutions company with a vision to provide eco-friendly goods and services for environmentally conscious tech-savvy consumers who have limited access to traditional power solutions.
Founded by Tolulope Williams, a legal practitioner who loves technology, toys and motorbikes. Silteck is looking to create electric-powered bikes that create an easier and more effective life for all while preserving our world for generations to come. The company currently has bikes that can run 46 – 131km with charge stations.
Greenfoot Africa
Greenfoot Africa is an eMobility as a Service (eMaaS) social enterprise focused on employing electric micro-mobility digital tools and access to clean energy to power an efficient and sustainable movement of goods in Africa’s urban food systems and local consumer markets.
The company has a vision to create sustainable, profitable, and resilient local consumer markets in Africa’s urban and rural centres by empowering local businesses and consumers to go green and work more efficiently. So far, the company has been able to successfully distribute 20,000+ km of goods sustainably, serve 300+ vendors and merchants and save 2000+ kg of carbon emissions
Image: Greenfoot Go
Greenfoot Africa provides delivery services with its 100% electric-powered bikes on Greenfoot Go which is at demonstration stages. The company has in the works Greenfoot Hub, an electric micro-mobility (2 & 3 wheelers) battery charging/swapping station, and consumer goods micro-fulfilment centre and E-guta, a locally made electric cargo bike
Nopea Ride
Nopea Ride, which means “Fast Ride” in Finnish, is a ride-hailing company that operates in Nairobi with 100% electric cars. The company operates using a similar model of most ride-hailing apps, connecting drivers to riders. However their cars are fully electric thereby more environmentally friendly
Nopea Ride’s parent company EkoRent Oy launched in Kenya in 2018 and has a vision to expand its fleet of rented electric taxis to 100 by the end of the year which will help reduce carbon emission within the city.
Source:technext.ng| Israel Babajide