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African startup Spiro in partnership with British Bboxx will expand its leasing of electric scooters and motorcycles. Rwanda, Kenya, and Togo are the three African countries where the partnership between the two will be implemented to expand their electric motorbikes. Already present in Benin, Togo, and Rwanda with 10,000 vehicles, the loan of $63 million will allow it to expand and put another 15,700 of the battery-powered vehicles on the road.
African startup Spiro in partnership with British Bboxx will expand its leasing of electric scooters and motorcycles. Rwanda, Kenya, and Togo are the three African countries where the partnership between the two will be implemented to expand their electric motorbikes. Already present in Benin, Togo, and Rwanda with 10,000 vehicles, the loan of $63 million will allow it to expand and put another 15,700 of the battery-powered vehicles on the road.
Under the terms of the partnership, Bboxx will provide its mobile payment solutions, including Bboxx’s Pulse application, a fully integrated pay-as-you-drive operating system that streamlines business operations for Spiro customers. Drivers will also benefit from an integration process that includes technical tests, speed and safety training, and access to protection kits.
Customers will be able to exchange electric motorbike batteries when they need a new charge at Bboxx shops and distribution centres across Rwanda, for example. Through this new alliance, Bboxx Pulse, the company’s proprietary integrated operating system (which currently processes around 40 payments per minute), enables Bboxx to cost-effectively extend financial services with a low point of entry to previously underserved communities. In addition, it provides a ready-made terrestrial network for Spiro to reach new customers, stated Mansoor Hamayun, CEO and co-founder of Bboxx.
This will optimise sales of the electric two-wheelers assembled by Spiro’s engineers and, above all, reduce air pollution in these East and West African countries, where combustion vehicles are still king. “With 9,000 electric motorbikes on the road, 2 million battery replacements carried out and 75 million kilometres travelled cleanly, Spiro is at the forefront of the green revolution in Africa, fuelling economies, creating jobs, and stimulating sustainable growth, says the company headed by Jules Samain.
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While it is true that electric vehicles are the future of urban mobility because of their low CO2 emissions and low running costs, the purchase of such vehicles remains fairly expensive. In Africa, there is a big tradition of moto-taxis. These drivers are the core clientele. Spiro offers leasing plans and a subscription for battery swapping. At five dollars per day, choosing electric is very profitable for their clients. They don’t suffer price rises on petroleum products, they don’t have to do the same maintenance as on a gasoline motorcycle and they have a more solid vehicle. The scooter and motorcycle have a range of between 75 and 90 kilometres, and the batteries can also be charged at home by clients.
Spiro is controlled by the Emirati fund ATIF managed by Gagan Gupta, a developer of industrial sites in Africa.
