Ampersand, Africa’s Electric Mobility Pioneer, Secures Major Investments To Scale Clean Transport in East Africa – CleanTechnica

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I have been following developments in the African electric mobility sector for about a decade now. Every time I get an update on what’s going on somewhere on the continent, I get so excited, as it gives us an insight into how much progress has been made over the past couple of decades. Having been on the ground and speaking with founders of hundreds of electric mobility startups and other firms all over the African continent, I always feel confident to say that the transition to electric mobility in Africa will happen a whole lot faster than most people realize. That’s because it has been developed by locally-based companies tackling real pain points and everyday problems faced by public operators and other stakeholders that make up their key target market — all developed from the ground up without much in terms of government subsidies as we have seen in other developed markets around the world.

One of the sectors seeing the most traction is the electric motorcycle market. Motorcycles are a really big deal in a lot of African countries, with most of them deployed as taxis. Close to 30 million motorcycles on the continent are used in this motorcycle taxi industry. With almost 99% of them still being internal combustion engine motorcycles, there is a huge opportunity and a large addressable market for electrification. The move towards electric vehicles in Africa, especially in this electric motorcycle sector, has mainly been driven by the private sector by small startup companies. Most of the developments in Africa’s electric motorcycle sector have been concentrated along what is now known as the “boda belt.” The boda belt, a term coined by Tom Courtright, is a stretch of countries on the African map where motorcycle taxis have been prominent over the years. This belt stretches from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal. There is also significant activity in North African countries such as Morocco, where smaller scooters are used mainly for personal transportation, unlike in East Africa and West Africa, where most of the activity is for commercial transport purposes.

The importance of accelerating the transition to electric motorcycles along this belt and decarbonizing transport in general is gaining more attention. Electric two-wheelers clean up the air and save drivers on average 45% a year on fuel and maintenance, improving lives and livelihoods and driving entrepreneurship and social mobility. Unit economics will be a key driver in the quest to drive adoption. As more electric motorcycles hit the road now, confidence in electric motorcycles in these markets is growing. With several companies in the electric motorcycle space now moving from early commercialization of their products to full commercial operations at decent scale, there is now a lot of activity along this boda belt.

Ampersand, one of the pioneers that led the way to establish Africa’s electric motorcycle sector, recently announced the successful closing of a funding round to scale its operations across East Africa. The round includes a significant new working capital investment from British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, enabled by new equity investments from Seedstars Africa Ventures, a pan-African venture capital fund, Gaia Impact, an impact advisory firm investing in the just energy transition, the Rwanda Green Fund, and Raspberry Syndicate, as well as increased investments from existing partners including Ecosystem Integrity Fund, AHL Ventures, Acumen, HEHF, and TotalEnergies. 

Ampersand stands out by its ability to structure blended finance and attract more private capital to fuel its rapid growth. The equity investments allowed BII to provide a catalytic junior debt with an immediate opportunity to bring additional senior local and international lenders into the business. The combined capital will support Ampersand’s expansion of its electric motorcycle fleet, battery swap network, and battery charging infrastructure across East Africa, catalyzing the shift to clean, affordable, and efficient mobility for the continent’s millions of motorcycle taxi riders.

“This funding marks a powerful vote of confidence in our mission to electrify Africa’s most important form of transport,” said Josh Whale, CEO of Ampersand. “With support from BII, Seedstars Africa Ventures, Gaia Impact, and Raspberry Syndicate, and ongoing support from our committed investors, we can double our battery fleet size by early 2026, delivering over 35,000 battery swaps daily and powering thousands of drivers with a cleaner, cheaper, and better-performing alternative to petrol motorcycles.”

Ampersand says that with the removal of fuel subsidies, motorcycle taxi riders — key economic actors across Africa — are facing growing financial pressure. Ampersand’s electric motorcycles not only address these cost challenges, but can also double riders’ take-home earnings compared to petrol-powered alternatives. These are real pain points for motorcycle riders and companies such as Ampersand are working hard to solve these.

Ampersand says this shift is already underway: demand for electric motorbikes far outpaces current supply, with the market for motorcycle fuel representing a $25 billion annual market opportunity. But the real game-changer is Ampersand’s vertically integrated solution combining battery pack, software, and battery swap stations — an affordable, scalable alternative to fuel stations that resolves both the high cost of battery ownership and the limitations of grid-based charging. Ampersand provides over 20,000 battery swaps daily from a fleet of over 8000 batteries. This fleet powers over 6000 electric motorcycles a total of over 900,000km daily, or 90 times the length of Africa. Crucially, Ampersand stands head and shoulders above competitors by powering customers reliably, with unmatched vehicle and battery lifespan. With 99% of batteries still active after 18 months and a customer revenue retention rate of over 100%, Ampersand now works with seven motorcycle brands developing vehicles to use Ampersand’s energy solution. The new investment will enable the company to scale in the region, expanding its battery swap network and accelerating the continent’s shift toward sustainable mobility.

“Electric mobility is a game-changer for inclusive, low-carbon growth, particularly in East Africa. Our investment in Ampersand reflects BII’s commitment to backing climate innovation that delivers real impact — supporting livelihoods, reducing emissions, and helping Africa lead in sustainable transport,” said Seema Dhanani, Regional Director, East Africa and Head of Office, Kenya at BII.

“Our decision to invest in Ampersand came down to three critical factors: the proven quality of the product, the business model’s capital efficiency, and the execution capacity of the team in a nascent market,” said Maxime Bouan, General Partner at Seedstars Africa Ventures. “Their electric motorbikes are purpose-built for local conditions and already in widespread commercial use. But equally impressive is the team’s ability to execute in a complex operating environment, scale efficiently, and deliver measurable impact.”

Ampersand adds that its solution delivers life-changing cost savings to drivers while cutting over 90% of tailpipe emissions. The company’s electric motorcycles, batteries, and energy network were developed and honed over years with a deep ethos of customer centricity. 

Ampersand supports the transition to clean transport while reinforcing Africa’s leadership in sustainable energy. While scaling continues in Rwanda, its home market, it is also reaching profitability in Kenya, its second market, and global partnerships, like that with BYD which is set to accelerate battery production and innovation, are growing. I am really excited about this partnership with BYD and look forward to more information as Ampersand and BYD start to really scale their work together. 

“Ampersand is a true first mover, fast scaling company in the African electric mobility sector,” says Guilhem Dupuy, Partner at Gaia Impact. “Ampersand managed to consolidate its head start to offer now a unique set of features: great commercial traction, customer centric mindset, extremely robust proprietary technology stack with a demonstrated ability to turn batteries into bankable financial assets, which would have been unthinkable in the energy space even a couple of years ago.”

In addition to BII, Seedstars Africa Ventures, and Gaia Impact, the funding round includes new participation from Rwanda Green Fund and Raspberry Venture Capital, as well as additional investments from current partners AHL Venture Partners, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Acumen Fund, TotalEnergies, and HEHF underlining renewed confidence as well as global interest in climate-positive solutions for emerging markets. 

It’s great to see investors and their partners backing electric mobility companies such as Ampersand on the African continent. They are putting in money where it’s needed the most, in companies making a real difference on the African continent.