BasiGo secures $3 million in funding to amplify bus production across East Africa

BasiGo, an electric mobility startup based in Kenya, has raised KSh396 million ($3 million) in equity funding to boost its electric bus production in Kenya and Rwanda. The financing was given by CFAO Group, shared between its Kenyan branch and corporate venture capital subsidiary, Mobility54.

This financial boost aims to support BasiGo in manufacturing and supplying their electric buses to the two East African countries. The startup has already received orders for 600 buses and anticipates that this funding will help expedite their delivery.

BasiGo specified that the 600 bus reservations include 500 made from Nairobi (Kenya) bus operators and another 100 from bus services in Kigali (Rwanda). The startup’s goal is to assemble and supply 1,000 electric buses locally in the next three years and thus create 300 long-term manufacturing jobs in Kenya.

BasiGo’s Co-founder and CEO, Jit Bhattacharya, has confirmed that this recent funding round is aligned with their African expansion strategy. He states that their financier, CFAO, emphasizes the exceptional potential of electric mobility to revolutionize African economies.

In February 2024, a strategic partnership was formed between the CFAO Group, CFAO Motor Kenya, and Toyota Tsusho Corporation. This agreement aimed to advance Kenya towards carbon neutrality by setting up a green energy value chain ranging from energy production to utilization.

Operating in 40 African countries, the CFAO Group is shaping an e-mobility ecosystem in East Africa by supporting green mobility startups through its subsidiary, Mobility54. On January 25, 2024, BYD (Build Your Dreams) electric cars were introduced to East Africa for the first time, through CFAO Mobility’s car dealership launch in Kigali, Rwanda.

In the same month, the Kenyan-based electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, BasiGo, successfully completed the production of its debut batch of locally assembled electric buses. By March 2024, BasiGo’s electric buses had already traveled over 1.5 million kilometers across Kenya, transporting more than 2.1 million passengers and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 680 tonnes.

In December 2023, BasiGo received a significant boost to its operations in a form of a $5 million (KSh766.7 million) debt facility from British International Investment (BII). This funding was intended to assist the company’s objective to locally assemble electric buses.

A month prior to this, BasiGo had also raised $1.5 million (KSh 227 million) to facilitate its expansion into Rwanda. This expansion was aimed at addressing the shortage of fleet in the East African country.