Ampersand Rwanda Ltd, a Kigali-based e-mobility startup and Africa’s first electric motorcycle venture, has just received a $3.5 million investment from the Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF). The deal is the first time a venture capital group has invested in an e-mobility project in Sub-Saharan Africa, and it marks a turning point in global electric transportation.
“We’re thrilled to have EIF on board for this historic investment. We now have the momentum to scale our operations to electrify all of East Africa’s 5 million taxi motorcycles by 2030. EIF’s support further dispels the myth that electric transport will happen in rich nations first and trickle down to developing countries later, second-hand,” says Josh Whale, Founder/CEO of Ampersand.
“This investment shows that E-mobility in 2021 is just as much about motorbike taxi drivers in east Africa as it is about the launch of the large electric SUVs, pickups, and sedans around the world,” he said.
Here Is What You Need To Know
- The EIF’s investment follows the startup’s acceleration through StartupBootcamp and early-stage financing from FactorE Ventures in 2018; as well as generous support from the Rwanda Green Fund, USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures, Shell Foundation, the UK FCDO’s Frontier Technology Livestreaming fund, the New Zealand Government, and a loan from Blue Haven Initiative’s Catalytic Fund.
- With the investment, Ampersand will be expanding its operations into neighbouring countries, beginning with Kenya, where there is a sizable demand.
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Why The Investors Invested
Based in San Francisco, United States, Ecosystem Integrity Fund (“EIF”) is an early growth stage investor in companies contributing to environmental sustainability.
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“We have confidence in the Ampersand team, and we believe the time is right,” said James Everett, Managing Partner of EIF. “We are very excited to partner with Ampersand as the company scales in Rwanda and expands across East Africa. We believe that electrifying 2 and 3 wheeled vehicles in developing countries represents one of the low hanging fruits for climate change mitigation globally, and can have a profound positive impact on urban air quality.”
A Look At What Ampersand Does
Launched in 2019, and headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda, Ampersand manufactures and finances electric motorcycles (‘emotos’ or ‘e-bodas’) that are less expensive, cleaner, and more efficient than the 5 million petrol motorcycle taxis that are currently in use across East Africa. Ampersand also owns and operates a network of battery swap stations, which allow drivers to change batteries faster than they can fill up their gas tank. The motorcycles are assembled in Rwanda using parts imported from a variety of sources.
The startup’s fleet of 35 drivers and e-motos has travelled over 1.3 million kilometres since its commercial launch in May 2019, and over 7000 drivers are on the waiting list.
“We design and build the battery packs ourselves. Our fleet of connected batteries, vehicles and network of swap stations is also run on a proprietary software platform, which we created ourselves in Rwanda,” Josh said.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer