BasiGo, an electric car company, has announced the opening of its operations in Nairobi, Kenya. The startup plans to offer a sustainable energy alternative to the public transportation market, which is now dominated by fossil-fuel matatus and buses.
The company plans to start selling electric buses constructed in the United States with parts from BYD Automative, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer. The buses will seat 26 or 36 people and have a range of 250 kilometers, allowing them to conduct round trips.
“For years, diesel-powered buses have been the only viable solution for bus operators in Kenya. We are excited to provide public transport operators with a new option: state-of-the-art electric buses that are more affordable, and reliable, and reduce bus operator exposure to the rising costs of diesel fuel,” said BasiGo CEO and co-founder Jit Bhattacharya.
BasiGo also received $1 million in pre-seed funding, from BasiGo a number of investors including Climate Capital, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, and Third Derivative, an accelerator focused on climate-technology.
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The company plans to introduce the first buses in Kenya later this year, with a flexible financing model that allows interested customers to purchase the buses for the same price as standard gasoline buses. The model also allows for payment in installments.
“The cost of electric bus technology has come down dramatically over the last 10 years, to the point where electric buses can offer significant savings compared to fossil-fuel buses. Our goal is to help bus owners in Kenya realize these savings, and in the process, help Kenya become a global leader in sustainable public transport,” said Bhattacharya.
BasiGo’s COO, Alex Mwaura, indicated that the business plans to power public transportation with Kenya’s renewable energy resources.
“Kenya is unique in that we have a surplus of renewable energy which can be taken advantage of by the public transport sector to make it more sustainable going forward. Nairobi’s transportation sector is evolving rapidly, and we look forward to partnering with the government and relevant agencies to grow the infrastructure for electrified public transit.”
Following the introduction in Kenya, BasiGo intends to expand into other East African countries.
BasiGo CEO and co-founder Jit Bhattacharya has been a technology pioneer in rechargeable (lithium-ion) batteries for more than 12 years; therefore he is no stranger to the world of electric vehicles. During his career, he served as the CEO of Mission Motors in Silicon Valley and as a senior manager at Project Titan, Apple Inc.’s covert electric car project. He was most recently the chief technical officer of Fenix International, a firm that made off-grid solar home systems that was acquired by the French multinational electric utility ENGIE in 2018.
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Jonathan Green, another BasiGo founder, has spent the last 15 years assisting entrepreneurs in delivering renewable energy solutions to African people. He was most recently the strategy and operations director at Fenix International, where he oversaw the delivery of over 500,000 pay-as-you-go solar systems to clients in six African regions.
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