InfraCo Africa, a PIDG firm, has inked an agreement with Zembo, contributing over €3 million to support the company’s electric motorbike business in Kampala, Uganda, along with a consortium that includes DOB Equity and Mobility 54. Zembo allows drivers to purchase electric motorcycle taxis (“boda boda”) or lease them to own them.
“We’re excited to partner with impact-focused institutions like InfraCo Africa, DOB Equity, and Mobility 54 to continue developing electric boda bodas and charging stations for our customers. Zembo’s mission to improve incomes for Uganda’s boda boda riders while cutting air pollution is shared by our supporters and is a driving force for this partnership. We look forward to continuing to serve our customers and making sustainable mobility a reality in Uganda,” Étienne Saint-Sermin, co-founder of Zembo said.
The funding will allow the company to increase the number of electric motorcycles on the road by almost 2,000, as well as support the installation of more than 60 Zembo charging and battery swapping stations throughout the city.
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The additional investment is expected to help Zembo expand while also instilling strong standards of health and safety and commercial development, allowing the company to scale and attract further private sector investment. Zembo’s concept has a lot of promise for replication in other African cities as part of the worldwide push to attain net zero emissions.
Why The Investors Invested
“Zembo is an exciting transaction for InfraCo Africa. Having invested in an all-electric taxi-hailing service in Nairobi, we are pleased to bring our experience of the e-mobility sector to co-developing Zembo’s offering in Uganda. Zembo has a great track record of delivering electric two-wheeler vehicles to the market and our joint effort with DOB Equity and Mobility 54 to scale and develop the business will expand the company’s ability to cut urban air pollution, create jobs and promote economic development in Kampala. The project also aligns with global efforts to improve air quality and to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century,” InfraCo Africa’s CEO, Gilles Vaes, said.
“Zembo is offering a low-emission and cheaper transport solution to meet the growing demand for urban transportation. With an ambition to invest more in Uganda as well as in companies with a strong environmental angle, DOB is excited to partner with Zembo and work together with InfraCo Africa and Mobility 54 to scale the electric mobility industry on the continent,” Saskia van der Mast, Co-CEO of Dutch private equity firm DOB Equity said.
“It is great to have InfraCo Africa on board as an anchor investor and co-developer committed to Zembo’s growth in Uganda. We believe that the Zembo’s zero emission motorcycles as well as carbon-free charging swap stations are tremendously contributing to the carbon neutrality of Uganda where air pollution is deemed to be one of the worst levels in Africa. Zembo’s e-motorcycles are also improving the income of the boda boda drivers through lower fuel and maintenance costs than the conventional combustion engines. At Mobility 54, we are committed to working with Zembo under our slogan “With Africa, For Africa” so as to help solve social and industrial challenges we are facing in Africa,” Takeshi Watanabe from Mobility 54 — a Corporate Venture Capital facility of Toyota Tsusho Corporation — said.
A Look At What Zembo Does
Zembo, which was founded in 2018 by Etienne Saint-Sernin and Daniel Dreher, provides boda-boda drivers with electric motorcycles and solar charging stations.
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Zembo’s model not only increases the number of electric motorcycle taxis on Kampala’s roads, but it also eliminates the need for drivers to purchase or own batteries or wait for them to be charged; instead, they simply swap a discharged battery for a fully charged one at one of Zembo’s battery swap stations and continue their journey. Uganda’s national grid is powered by renewable energy to the tune of 92 percent, and the addition of off-grid solar PV charging stations will further assure that automobiles are actually cutting emissions.
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 write