Ghanaian E-mobility Startup SolarTaxi Raises Funding To Scale Offering

SolarTaxi, a Ghanaian e-mobility startup, has acquired funding from Persistent to expand its offering.

SolarTaxi, founded in 2018 by Jorge Appiah, is an e-mobility firm that designs, manufactures, and distributes electric two-wheel (e-2Ws) and four-wheel (e-4Ws) cars for transportation and delivery services.

E-commerce companies like Jumia and Bolt, which both employ SolarTaxi’s e-2Ws to deliver customer orders throughout Accra, are among the company’s notable customers in Ghana, and the company also has operations in Kumasi, Takoradi, and Tamale.

SolarTaxi, founded in 2018 by Jorge Appiah
SolarTaxi, foundeder, Jorge Appiah

SolarTaxi’s electric vehicles are built for home charging, but the company wants to build and install solar charging stations as the market grows. Meanwhile, it will soon release the SolarCampus app, which will enable university students to purchase products delivered by an e-bike and use e-transportation services.

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Persistent, a leader and investor in the off-grid energy and e-mobility sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa with 20 early-stage investments in pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar distributors, commercial and industrial solar (C&I), mini-grid developers, technology enablers, and e-mobility companies, has funded all of these plans. Persistent’s fourth investment in the electric vehicle industry is SolarTaxi, and its money and venture building will help Solar Taxi unlock working capital to service substantial contracts and orders for its electric vehicles.

“Our journey throughout the years has the characteristics of resilience and hard work, right from when we assembled our first prototype vehicle to when we received our seed funding from our key partner, Mastercard Foundation. We later had to prove the business concept of our model by scaling our business activities in four different locations in Ghana,” Appiah said.

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“Our growth so far has been due to the support we received from our partners, customers, investors and our hardworking staff. As we look to create our own path to success, we intend to scale our business activities by setting up an assembling plant for our bike and car operations in Ghana. In light of that, we are delighted to welcome Persistent to the SolarTaxi family, as they believe in us and in our vision and have committed their resources to this effect. This latest funding from Persistent demonstrates their conviction in our business model and team and it gives SolarTaxi the much-needed support to deliver on our plans for the future.”

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert. 
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Jumia Ghana Partners SolarTaxi to Provide Eco-Friendly Deliveries

Jorge Appiah, CEO of SolarTaxi Ghana

Africa’s largest and most ubiquitous e-Commerce platform, Jumia has partnered with Accra-based eco-friendly mobility facilities company SolarTaxi to provide affordable and eco-friendly delivery of online orders to consumers. Jumia says that the new partnership further speaks of the company’s commitment to going green.

“With a shared vision of ensuring a clean and sustainable environment using renewable energy, coupled with the need to keep consumers safe especially during future waves of COVID-19, consumers who order food, groceries and other essential items on Jumia can get their orders delivered conveniently and environmentally friendly to their homes or offices by SolarTaxi riders,” Jumia says in a statement.

Jorge Appiah, CEO of SolarTaxi Ghana
Jorge Appiah, CEO of SolarTaxi Ghana

“Partnering with SolarTaxi Ghana helps us to play our part in keeping our environment safe,” Tolulope Goerge-Yanwah, CEO of Jumia Ghana, said about the new collaboration.

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“The use of solar-driven vehicles and motorbikes for online deliveries keeps all our stakeholders safe from fuel emissions. The health and safety of our consumers, as well as delivery agents, is a priority. The use of SolarTaxi bikes and vehicles also ensures affordability to our consumers who can now enjoy reduced shipping fees.”

Because SolarTaxi’s solar-powered vehicles have electric motors, they burn no fuel and produce no emissions. This helps to preserve the country’s natural resources, and eliminate the high fuel costs involved with making several deliveries a day. 

Jorge Appiah, CEO of SolarTaxi Ghana says that “In today’s world, health is a major concern to everybody, especially diseases related to the respiratory system. In view of this, we have partnered with Jumia Ghana to provide eco-friendly and affordable transportation to Ghanaians through its online delivery service.”

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 Appiah says that because of the reduction of emissions, he hopes that this will go hand-in-hand with lessening respiratory issues in the country and thus aid in its fight against COVID-19.

The first phase of this partnership sees over 20 solar-powered motorcycles being used for online deliveries on Jumia with plans already in place to scale to over 100 by the end of the year. Both companies have pledged to expand this service to other parts of the country in the coming months.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry