E-mobility firm BasiGo has received a $5 million (Sh676million) loan to scale up the assembly of electric buses in Kenya.
The debt funding from UK’s development finance institution, British International Investment, is the first of its kind supporting the electrification of the informal public transport in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The institution's Managing Director and head of Africa Chris Chijiutomi said the funding comes from the firm' s Climate Innovation facility targeting acceleration of climate innovation in emerging markets.
“BII’s Climate Innovation facility was designed to help scale impactful, cutting-edge technologies, with the potential to transform the lives of people and communities in Africa,” said Chijiutomi.
He added that BasiGo is revolutionising public transport in Kenya with the potential to mitigate 5 million tonnes of CO2 in Nairobi alone.
BII has existing indirect exposure to BasiGo through its investment in Novastar Fund II.
Under the new plan the buses will be delivered through BasiGo’s Pay-As-You-Drive financing model, which enables bus operators to acquire electric buses without incurring the high upfront cost.
"We are thrilled to receive this catalytic financial support from BII. It is a testament to our shared commitment towards building scalable climate solutions here within Africa," said BasiGo co-founder and chief financial officer Jonathan Green.
Founded in 2021, BasiGo has led the introduction of electric buses into Nairobi’s public transport fleet.
So far 19 electric buses have been deployed to public transport operators in Nairobi, currently representing the largest fleet of electric buses in sub-Saharan Africa.
The electric buses financed by BII will be assembled in Kenya, establishing a new green manufacturing hub for modern electric vehicles.
BasiGo recently began its first batch of locally assembled electric buses at Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers, one of country’s leading automotive assembly plants.
The EV firm has already received over 350 deposits from bus operators in Nairobi looking to reserve the company’s first units.
BasiGo aims to deploy 1,000 locally assembled electric buses in East Africa in the next three years.
