Asobo Kenya Limited, a start-up in Lake Victoria, is facilitating fishers to switch from using diesel-powered boats to installing electric engines as a way to curb pollution in the lake.
The e-mobility investment provides engines and batteries to the fishers after training and testing them. It then monitors usage and maintenance by providing daily recharging of the batteries and warehousing services.
Gabriel Mayio, the operations and technical director at Asobo, says pollution caused by oil leaks poses direct health hazards to people who depend on the lake.
“Asobo has come in to sort out this problem by curbing the increasing pollution that’s happening in Lake Victoria, not only from the perspective of the environment but also directly for the fishermen themselves,” he said.
The lake, Africa’s largest, serves about 50 million people living by its shores, spread across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, directly and indirectly, depending on the lake for fishing activities.
The lake’s biodiversity has been threatened over time by pollution, posing a threat to fishing, a prominent economic activity for the fishers and their families.
Beyond the lake’s well-being, fishers acknowledge Asobo for improving their standards of fishing. “I can now go for a long time before feeling heavy chest pains due to a hard start in fuel-powered boats, and I breathe less of the dirty air,” says Steven Achilla, a local fisherman.
The new initiative is receiving a positive reception, with fishers embracing the initiative and shifting from their fuel-powered boats.
Mayio, the operations and technical director, says, “None of the customers who have ever come in and used electric motors created any doubt or has gone back to using an electric engine.”
Asobo has 50 fishers using their services, a number it seeks to double by the end of the year through to the end of the first quarter of 2023. Long-term, it targets to incorporate 5,000 fishers into the programme in the next five years.
