Kenya's nationwide e-bike program revealed by government

author: FutureCar Staff    

The Kenyan government has announced its plans to introduce electric motorbikes across the country. President William Ruto revealed the initiative in collaboration with African startup Spiro, just days before hosting the first Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi next week.

Kenya currently has about two million motorbikes on its roads, with the majority being "boda bodas" or two-wheeled taxis commonly used in the continent. President Ruto emphasized that the adoption of electric mobility is a crucial intervention to tackle pollution, adverse health effects, and fuel costs.

President Ruto further stated that Kenya aims to eventually phase out combustion engine-powered motorbikes, as their increasing usage across the continent has serious implications for climate change and air quality. Africa, despite contributing only two to three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, suffers disproportionately from the effects of climate change.

Spiro, the African startup, has already introduced nearly 10,000 electric bikes in various African countries, including Benin, Togo, Rwanda, and Uganda. They plan to establish 3,000 battery-charging and swapping stations in Kenya, in addition to the 350 stations already present across Africa. Their goal is to potentially roll out more than one million electric vehicles throughout the country.

President Ruto, a prominent figure in African climate change efforts, expressed Kenya's ambition to generate 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources like hydroelectric, geothermal, solar, and wind power by 2030. Currently, Kenya already generates most of its energy from renewable sources, but frequent power cuts remain a challenge.

Last weekend, a massive power outage affected several regions, including Nairobi and its international airport. The outage was caused by a generator failure, leaving the main terminals in darkness. In addition to power cuts, Kenyans are also facing economic hardship due to soaring fuel prices, the highest in over a decade, and new taxes.

Despite these challenges, the number of registered electric vehicles in Kenya remains low, accounting for less than one percent of the total 4.4 million registered vehicles, according to government figures.

FutureCar Staff