Africa's E-Mobility Debate Moves Beyond Just Getting Bikes on the Road

The fifth Africa E-Mobility Week & Forum wrapped up late last month at Nooitgedacht Estate in Stellenbosch, Western Cape — the first time the gathering has landed in Southern Africa. Previous editions were hosted in Kenya and Ethiopia, and next year’s event heads to West Africa.

Attendance tells its own story: 320 forum participants from 42 countries, convened by the Africa E-Mobility Alliance (AfEMA) alongside UNEP, the African Union Commission and UNECA.

From pilot grants to fleet-scale numbers

When the forum first launched, Africa’s e-mobility scene was a handful of startups crawling out of grant-funded pilots and small equity rounds, hunting for bigger checks after proving their models worked. East and West Africa carried most of the momentum, with scattered activity elsewhere on the continent.

Electric motorcycles dominated the room — and for good reason. More than 30 million ICE two-wheelers run as taxis across Africa, and the unit economics made two-wheelers the sensible place to start. Electric buses followed in later years, and now attention is turning to heavy-duty trucks on the continent’s transport corridors.

The contrast with today is stark. Spiro has pulled in over half a billion dollars, put more than 150,000 electric motorcycles on African roads and operates 2,500 battery swap stations across several markets. Still, most startups in the sector need similarly large rounds before the market goes mainstream, so the funding gap hasn’t closed yet.

Policy tailwinds and a fuel-price shock

Rwanda, Ethiopia, Egypt, Nigeria and Mauritius have pushed policies that helped electric car uptake. Ethiopia now has close to 150,000 electric cars on the road. Middle East tensions and the resulting fuel prices have added another push — South African and Egyptian EV sales are surging, and Egypt expects to register close to 30,000 electric cars this year. Thirty thousand in twelve months is genuinely remarkable.

Localise, don’t just import

With some vehicle segments nearing mainstream adoption, the conversation in Stellenbosch turned to who captures the value. Demand for resources tied to AI infrastructure and data centres is rising, and much of what’s needed sits under African soil — which has sharpened the discussion about moving past the importer role.

Dr. Juma Mukhwana, Principal Secretary at Kenya’s State Department for Industry in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, told the forum that Kenya is pushing localisation. The country counts more than 400 automotive component manufacturers, and the goal is to fold them into the e-mobility supply chain instead of importing fully built units.

The next edition lands in West Africa in 2027.