Toyota, DOB Equity and InfraCo Africa invest $3.4 million in Ugandan motorcycle company Zembo

Investments of $3.4 million (€3 million) have been made by Toyota Tsusho Corporation, CFAO Group, DOB Equity and InfraCo Africa in the electric motorcycle startup Zembo to assist it to expand its business.

As of 2018, the company Zembo, a French start-up with a presence in Uganda, was selling electric motorcycles through a lease-to-own model. Also in East Africa, it has a network of solar charging and battery switching stations

With Toyota’s global automotive footprint, Mobility 54 says it will help the business extend its operations across Africa. The two companies will also collaborate on new partnerships, particularly in the areas of batteries and solar panels, where Mobility54 expects the most development.

ZEMBO is a company that hopes to help Africa become carbon-neutral by electrifying its transportation sector. Leveraging the group’s automotive operations across the continent, Toyota Tsusho and CFAO Group will help Zembo expand its business in Africa.

They will also help to establish over 60 charging and battery changing stations throughout Kampala, Uganda’s capital. On a single charge, its motorcycles can travel 37 miles (60 kilometres).

InfraCo Africa, DOB Equity, and Mobility 54 are partnering with Zembo to build electric boda bodas (motorcycles) and charging stations for clients.  This relationship is motivated by Zembo’s objective to increase boda boda riders’ salaries while also reducing pollution in Uganda. The company will keep helping clients and make sustainable mobility possible in Uganda. 

Rent-to-own schemes for electric bikes are offered by Zembo in Uganda, and the company partners with external financial institutions to market them. For a cost, riders can swap out exhausted batteries for fully charged ones using the company’s battery-as-a-service business model.

Zembo has a proven track record in bringing electric two-wheeler vehicles to the market, and our joint effort with DOB Equity and Mobility 54 to grow and develop the business will increase the company’s potential to reduce urban air pollution, generate jobs, and promote economic development in Kampala, according to InfraCo Africa CEO, Gilles Vaes. It also aligns with global efforts to enhance air quality and reach net-zero emissions by the middle of the twenty-first century.”

Meanwhile, PIDG’s Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) and DOB Equity, a Dutch family-backed investor with an interest in East Africa, give funds and expertise to infrastructure projects.

Many African cities rely heavily on motorcycle taxis, and Kampala is no exception. A switch to electric power would solve these problems.  A number of businesses are emerging in African countries to provide e-mobility solutions as environmentally friendly modes of transportation. Zembo Storm motorbikes is one of these enterprises.

An increase in the use of electric power also has the potential to reduce carbon emissions, which are a significant contributor to the climate change challenges that the world is attempting to solve.

Despite this, reports reveal that electric mobility in Africa is still in its infancy, with huge potential provided the necessary infrastructure is constructed. Companies like Zembo and Opibus are constructing their own infrastructure.