NopeaRide

Kenya’s Electric Vehicle Taxi Brand, NopeaRide Exits Kenyan Market.

NopeaRide, Kenya’s first fully electric taxi service, is exiting the market after being unable to raise additional funding to keep it afloat.

Kenya’s first fully electric taxi service, NopeaRide, is exiting the market after its parent company EkoRent OY failed to raise additional funding to keep it afloat.

NopeaRide said EkoRent Africa, the local subsidiary of the Finnish company, has filed for insolvency in Kenya, bringing to an end the operations of the all-electric vehicle taxi player, which sought to drive a shift to environmentally-friendly transport options while stepping-up competition for early market entrants Uber and Bolt.

We have taken our fleet of electric vehicles off the road and have notified our staff and corporate clients. We are now working with relevant authorities to ensure that our operations are wound up in accordance with local legislation,” said NopeaRide in a statement.

We would like to extend our deepest regret to our dedicated team of staff and drivers. We would also like to thank our loyal NopeaRide customers, corporate clients and other partners who have supported NopeaRide’s vision for electric mobility in Africa,” it said.

Juha Suojanen founded EkoRent Oy in 2014 to develop solutions based on electric vehicles and solar energy, which later led to the 2018 launch of NopeaRide in Kenya.

NopeaRide service was first launched in Kenya in August of 2018 (under the name NopiaRide) by a Finnish company EkoRent Oy founded in 2014. Nopea started with a small minimum viable product in Nairobi with only 3 electric vehicles and 2 chargers, and our fleet and charging network grew very moderately in the following year. Towards the end of 2019, Nopea received new funding and placed orders for additional electric vehicles and chargers.

Unfortunately, many additional vehicles arrived in Nairobi at about the same time as the strict Covid-19 curfew rules were put in place in March 2020. Those rules lead to daily kilometres driven by Nopea vehicles dropping approximately 60% overnight. The timing of these additional Nopea vehicles arriving in Kenya could not have been much worse.

Last year, NopeaRide also received €200,000 in funding, a fraction of what it was raising, from EEP Africa, a financing facility for early-stage clean energy in Southern and East Africa, to build more solar charging hubs in Nairobi, and increase its service radius in anticipation of growth.

The startup said it was on a path to recovery this year after its business was badly hit by the Covid pandemic, which led to a dip in the number of rides as people worked from home.

In the first half of 2022, our traffic numbers grew to about the same level as before Covid-19. We also started to put more effort into the corporate segment as their employees were returning to the office and managed to sign contracts with a few big international companies, some potentially reserving the majority of available Nopea capacity,” it said.

However, EkoRent OY went into insolvency in Finland and was unable to secure additional financing to grow the business in Nairobi to the next level.

Source: TechCrunch

Suzuki_Moove

Report: Moove & CFAO’s Suzuki Cars Receives Zero-Safety Rating.

The Suzuki brand of vehicles from CFAO Motors and Vehicle Financing startup, Moove received zero safety ratings and are declared dangerous for our roads.

For its mobility entrepreneurs in Ghana and Nigeria, Moove, an African mobility fintech firm, partnered with CFAO Motors, the continent’s most prominent automotive distribution network with a presence in 36 countries, in February 2022 and bought over 5,000 brand-new, fuel-efficient Suzuki cars.

Following acquiring these car fleets from CFAO, Moove agreed with Uber in sub-Saharan Africa and has experienced more than 50% month over month since beginning in Ghana and Nigeria.

With this move, they hope to strengthen their drive to supply new, fuel-efficient automobiles across Africa on a large scale by making a variety of Suzuki cars available in Ghana and Nigeria, including the Alto, Swift, Celerio, Baleno, Dzire, and S-Presso models.

Suzuki Models Ghana
Suzuki brands on the Ghanaian market by CFAO and funded by Moove for ride-hailing.

Types of Ride-hailing Services in Ghana.

The development of ride-hailing applications in Ghana has completely changed how we get around various locations. People may rely on these apps to provide the fundamental requirements of a hired ride: reasonable prices, comfort, and timeliness. Ghanaians don’t have to depend on rickety, worn-out, outdated taxis and trotros for transportation.

According to studies conducted by independent automobile researchers, “the introduction of ride-hailing services—Yango being the newest to hit the market in 2019—has substantially aided in making the available riding services more affordable, particularly in terms of rates. The price considered affordable for the latest actors’ service offers is one aspect that, in the eyes of those polled, clearly stands out. In reality, 71.4% of the 156 respondents to the study think that middle-class people can afford those services.

The research also added that “22.2% of the panel, even those with low incomes, can afford ride-hailing services. A middle-class individual can afford these services, according to the over-45 age group, which supports this trend 100%.”

You might find it fascinating to learn that there are more than ten ride-hailing businesses in Ghana. Since the launch of Uber in June 2016, four of the industry’s leading players have been splitting this highly profitable ride-hailing sector. Due to its first-to-market advantage, Uber became extremely popular among Ghanaians compared to its competitors. Bolt, Yango, and Accra Cab all followed shortly after.

The ride-hailing services Dropyn, Enshika, Ghroupdrive, Uru, Rabarides, CarpoolGH, BlackRide, Coco Ride GH, and Swift-Wheels are some of those vying for this market share.

Suzuki Models Safety Ratings

Automobile manufacturers in the United States aim for four and five-star safety ratings when testing cars for passenger safety. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts numerous tests on automobiles to determine their safety in crashes.

According to a crash test performed by Global NCAP, the new Maruti Suzuki S-Presso automobile sold in Ghana by CFAO and financed for ride-hailing services by Moove has a low rate of passenger safety. In the popular video from Business Insider, the Suzuki models scored 0 for failing to safeguard passengers in a head-on accident.

The Suzuki S-Presso was driven 40 miles per hour through a metal barrier during the Global NCAP test. The test dummies inside suffered significant damage, as evidenced by the recorded results. The dummies’ exposed areas are shown in red, and there is obviously a lot of red. The lack of numerous essential safety elements in a vehicle like the S-Presso is what makes it so hazardous.

The voiceover video provided additional clarification; “what makes a car like the S-Presso so dangerous is the number of basic features it lacks. First, it provides only the driver with an airbag. In contrast, a 5-star vehicle, like the Tesla Model 3, features full-size airbags for both front seats, as well as side airbags for the rear seats. That is because they effectively prevent severe impact and stress on passengers during a crash.”

The influx of Suzuki’s Zero-rated Cars in Ghana.

Many Suzuki model automobiles are now being funded and used for ride-hailing services in Ghana and Nigeria due to the partnership between CFAO and Moove. Some social media users on Twitter have called for people not to buy these brands of Suzuki cars, and some have called for authorities to take these brands off the street.

This discussion about vehicle safety and NCAP ratings needs to be louder, so that negligent automaker like Maruti Suzuki is compelled to put safety before their fuel efficiency trap. It is quite disheartening that car companies like Suzuki and Moove are pushing these vehicles on our roads with zero-star safety ratings while still providing financing options for them.

It is about time the Government of Ghana and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) enforced the standards for vehicles being shipped into the country and using our roads.

Roam

Kenya’s Roam Launches Electric Buses Targeting Public Transport.

Kenyan electric vehicle manufacturing company Roam has launched electric buses for public transport.

An electric bus aimed at public transportation has been introduced by Roam Electrics, a Kenyan manufacturer of electric vehicles. The 90-passenger Rome Rapid electric bus provides space for both standing and seated travellers and is powered entirely by electricity.

The company wanted to create an inclusive, modern, efficient and sustainable mobility solution. “The focus for the bus has been to design a robust vehicle with best in class carrying capacity, range and comfort to enable mass adoption of clean transport across the continent,” said Dennis Wakaba, Roam Project Coordinator.

The bus comes with a 384-kWh battery pack that allows for a range of 360 km and has the ability to fully charge in less than 2 hours through DC charging ports hence giving operators full flexibility to decide their charging and operating schedule.

The Changing Transport Organisation report found that between 2000 and 2016, Sub-Saharan Africa experienced a 75% increase in emissions, with transport emissions increasing by 153% in Ghana, 73% in Kenya, and 16% in Nigeria.

Following the health and environmental concerns and the need to reduce dependency on oil imports, electric mobility is currently gaining prominence across the continent’s public and private sectors. Electricity company KenGen and supplier Kenya Power are currently planning to set up charging hubs for electric mobility units.

KenGen said it has already set up one station in Nairobi and is now importing cars to test the hubs. On the other hand, Kenya Power announced Tuesday that it would test its stations in Nairobi and Nakuru next month. Roam joins Kenyan electric vehicle start-up BasiGo which has launched an Sh5 million passenger electric bus as demand for environmentally friendly transport rises.

In January, car and General (C&G) promised to start selling electric vehicles and tuk-tuks as part of a plan to diversify into the ‘green’ mobility business expected to grow amid a push to address climate change and pollution.

About Roam Electric

Roam Electric Vehicle Manufacturers was established in 2017 as an electric mobility Company. The company focuses on all-electric conversion kits for fleet vehicles such as light trucks, public transport and buses, as well as electric motorcycles and energy systems.

Source

Treepz-2-696x491

Treepz Ghana to pilot app-based Mass Transit in Accra.

A Ghanaian mobility start-up, Treepz Ghana, has signed a deal to pilot an app-based mass transportation solution within the Greater Accra Metropolis.

Treepz Ghana has agreed to trial an app-based mass transportation solution inside the Greater Accra Metropolis with HM Evolution Services Ltd, a renowned transport provider in Ghana. Through the Treepz Mobile app, travellers will be able to book intra-city bus journeys on HM Evolution 44-seater buses.

Upon a successful pilot, the partnership will see the onboarding of additional 44-seater buses to help ease the hassle of daily commuting.

The agreement will also strive to lessen the hardship of passengers who have to stand for long hours to queue or struggle for seats at bus stops,” Treepz Ghana said in a statement.

Passengers will be able to book their seats even before they arrive at their bus stops thanks to the Treepz smartphone app. They merely need to choose their pick-up time, as well as their pick-up and drop-off bus stops, and then wait for their bus to arrive.

The pilot will commence on the Accra to Ayi Mensah, Circle to Amasaman and Circle to Kasoa routes.

The Treepz service, which is cashless, is in line with the country’s drive for digitization, and will allow passengers to pay bus fares via mobile money and other digital channels, the company said.

Treepz Ghana Country Manager, Isidore Kportufe added that: “We are thrilled to embark on this journey with HM Evolution, and are really looking forward to welcoming other bus partners onto our Vehicle Partnership program. This highlights Treepz Ghana’s long-term commitment to leading the charge in the use of shared mobility technologies to enhance how we travel and make moving around the city more convenient. Most significantly, our bus partners can expect consistent revenue and development in their businesses.

At this critical moment when everyone is concerned about the traffic issue, we believe this step may play a vital part in unlocking the prospect of pleasant, predictable, and safe mass transit throughout the city,” he said.

This would alleviate congestion and provide drivers the option to park and ride, ultimately reducing the number of automobiles on the road, which contributes to the heavy traffic on key roads.

HM Evolution Services Managing Director Adri Hopson said: “We are confident that with further engagement with all stakeholders in the transport sector, we can modernize the industry and remove all bottlenecks within the sector. Although we have been in the transportation business for some years, we are very optimistic about this opportunity to introduce technology through our partnership with Treepz Ghana. Our buses are neat, air-conditioned and very comfortable and will provide a great in-ride experience to all passengers”.

About Treepz Ghana

Treepz Ghana is a technology company that operates within the transportation space, with operations in Ghana and Nigeria. The company’s mobile app available on Android and iOS enables commuters and companies in Accra and Lagos to book comfortable AC buses for their morning, afternoon, and evening rides on fixed routes.

Credit: Starr FM / Ghana

kigali_City

31 African startups selected for Smart Cities Innovation Programme

Thirty-one African digital innovation startups have been chosen to participate in the Smart Cities Innovation Programme taking place in Kigali, Rwanda.

Thirty-one African tech startups have been selected to take part in the Smart Cities Innovation Programme, which will help them scale up their products and services to boost urban transformation.

Launched by the Rwandan Ministry of ICT and Innovation and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the six-month Smart Cities Innovation Programme is designed to help African startups scale innovative products which can boost the potential of urbanization, ensuring smart cities achieve inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

By scaling innovations for smart cities, the programme concretely contributes to Africa’s urban transformation in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The programme uses Rwanda’s pilot initiative towards green urbanization, Green City Kigali, as an application case for smart city. By testing and adapting their solutions under realistic market conditions, startups work on a viable business opportunity and explore the potential of the Rwandan market.

After more than 300 applications were received for the programme, 31 startups have been selected to take part across three tracks addressing common topics of smart cities — cleantech and smart housing, smart mobility, and fintech for affordability.

The selected startups in the first track include three from Nigeria, namely Scrapays, Koolboks and Gas360, as well as Rwanda’s Urbany Africa, South Africa’s Dove Air, Uganda’s EcoPlastile, and Ivory Coast’s Messibat.

In the smart mobility track, six of the startups are Kenyan: Kiri EV, Mazi Mobility, Instadriver, BasiGo, Smatbeba, e-safiri, and Expendo. The rest of the cohort is made up of Rwandan companies Digital Blind Walking Stick, Gura Universal Link and STES Group, plus Tunisia’s Optimalogistic, Egypt’s Transport for Cairo, Ivory Coast’s EWarren Financial Services, Zimbabwe’s Tuverl, and Uganda’s KaCyber Security Tech.

Kenya (Cladfy, Digiduka), Ghana (Cofundie, Naa Sika), and Uganda (Payclide, Flow) each have two startups in the fintech for affordability track, which also includes Malawi’s Angle Dimension, Zambia’s Insure Pay, and Rwanda’s Mopay.

These startups will receive six months of holistic support including virtual and physical training, individual coaching and mentoring from seasoned experts. They will also get access to the programme’s corporate and public partners as well as investors, allowing for extensive networking and matchmaking.

Credit: Disrupt Africa
Moove-Founders-Jide-and-Ladi-1-min-1024x683

Moove Raises $23 Million in Series A Funding to Democratize Vehicle Ownership in Africa

African mobility fintech startup, Moove to provide revenue-based vehicle financing, empowering individuals across Africa to own their own vehicle.

Moove, an African mobility fintech, today announced that it has raised $23 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Speedinvest and Left Lane Capital, with participation from DCM, Clocktower Technology Ventures, thelatest.ventures, LocalGlobe, Tekton, FJ Labs, Palm Drive Capital, Roka Works, KAAF Investments, Spartech Ventures, Class 5 Global, and Victoria van Lennep, co-founder of Lendable. Africa specialist, Verod Kepple Africa Ventures, and one of Moove’s existing lenders, Emso Asset Management, also joined the round.

This brings Moove’s total funding to $68.2 million, including $28.2M in equity and $40.0M in debt. Moove is the first investment in Africa for many of its U.S. VC backers, underscoring the opportunity for a platform like Moove to address the continent’s vehicle financing gap.

Operating on a continent with more than a billion people who have limited or no access to vehicle financing – and the lowest per capita vehicle ownership in the world – Moove will use the funding round to build a full-service mobility fintech that democratizes vehicle ownership across Africa. The market opportunity is vast – Africa is home to 1.3 billion people, with 43 per cent in urban areas and growing, and in 2019 had fewer than 900,000 total new vehicle sales compared to 17 million in the U.S.

Moove embeds its alternative credit-scoring technology onto ride-hailing and e-logistics platforms, which allows access to proprietary performance and revenue analytics of mobility entrepreneurs to underwrite loans. Moove’s model is to provide loans to its customers by selling them new vehicles and financing up to 95 per cent of the purchase within five days of sign up. Moove customers can choose to pay back their loans over 24, 36, or 48 months, using a percentage of their weekly revenue. All Moove customers sign up to the Moove app to manage all transactions and access other financial products on the platform.

Co-founders Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi are British-born Nigerians, educated at the London School of Economics, Oxford University and MIT, who have successfully built three other businesses in Africa over the last eight years through their venture studio, Grace Lake Partners. Ladi is a serial entrepreneur and Jide is a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs and former management consultant at McKinsey. Driven by a common passion to create shared value leveraging their extensive operating experience on the continent, they set out to build Moove to provide Africans with a path to new vehicle ownership while creating new jobs.

In a continent full of opportunity, mobility is key to moving economies forward and this funding contributes to our ability to provide revenue-based financing, as Moove empowers Africans to safely become mobility entrepreneurs,” said Ladi Delano, co-founder of Moove.

We help people buy new cars who otherwise couldn’t afford them. And then, using the vehicle as a mobility entrepreneur, they’re able to earn money, which allows them to pay off the vehicle over time.

Moove is Uber’s exclusive vehicle financing and vehicle supply partner in sub-Saharan Africa, with Moove-financed cars having completed more than 850,000 Uber trips covering over 13 million kilometres across the continent to date.

The start-up was initially bootstrapped by its co-founders with seed-stage funding from Future Africa, an Africa focused fund led by Iyin Aboyeji, who was a founder at Andela and Flutterwave. The new Series A funding will allow Moove to grow and expand into new markets as well as develop and launch new products and services. The equity raise follows a year of momentum and success for Moove with the launch of three cities and 60% month-on-month growth so far.

With Ladi and Jide at the helm of a world-class team, and their unique approach to vehicle financing, Moove has quickly established itself as one of the most exciting tech companies in Africa,” said Stefan Klestil, General Partner at Speedinvest.

The company’s expansion to three cities in under 12 months demonstrates the huge demand for vehicle financing in Africa, where just five per cent of new cars are purchased with financing, compared to 92 per cent in Europe.

Moove’s technology is fundamentally changing access to mobility and empowering thousands to earn a new source of income,” said Dan Ahrens, Managing Partner at Left Lane Capital. “As we look ahead, the potential for that technology and the Moove team to expand even further is very exciting. They have the opportunity to become a full-service mobility fintech and expand their offerings to insurance and other financial services.

Moove is a mission-led company that’s committed to giving 100 per cent of mobility entrepreneurs access to affordable credit and ensuring that 50 per cent of its customers are women. It also aims to ensure that at least 60 per cent of the vehicles it finances are electric or hybrid vehicles as part of its commitment to improving road safety and vehicle emissions on Africa’s roads.

To learn more about Moove and its mission to democratize vehicle ownership across Africa, visit: https://moove.africa/.

Bolt-Driver-Ghana

How To Register and Drive With Bolt in Ghana

Do you qualify to drive for Bolt in Ghana? This guide gives you all of the necessary details about the Bolt driver requirements and the processes involved.

If you’re looking for a way to make money driving, starting a career as a Bolt driver in Ghana could be the option you’ve been looking for.

Unlike more traditional taxi services, drivers who work for Bolt are paid weekly, use their own car, and are allowed to set their schedule with flexible shifts.

Here are some basic requirements, tips, and guidelines on how to be a Bolt driver in Ghana.

Bolt Driver Registration

To register as a driver on the Bolt Ghana platform, you must meet the following driving requirements:

You are at least 25 years old and have a valid Ghana driver’s license and also own a vehicle that meets the accepted criteria. They must also have an Android or iPhone Smartphone with GPS functionalities.

If you have these requirements, you may continue to complete the following steps to sign up as a driver.

Register through the sign-up portal and follow the application process:

  • Step 1: Enter your email address, phone number, and city
  • Step 2: Fill in your personal details
  • Step 3: Fill in your National ID (Driver’s License Number) and License Number (Reference number of the License)
  • Step 4: Upload all the required documents and their expiry dates
  • Step 5: Fill in your payment details i.e. mobile money wallet where you want to receive payments:
    • Select Person as your Billing Type
    • Your name as the Mobile Money Wallet Name
    • Your MoMo number starting with 233 as your Mobile Wallet Number
    • Your network provider is Mobile Money Network.

Wait until the Bolt team process and approve your application. If the application is missing any documents/details, their team will contact you to clarify and advise the next step.

Approved Bolt Driver Activation Centres in Accra

If you want to drive for Bolt in Accra, you may also register and complete training in one of the Approved Driver Activation Centres:

FameSafe Consult

  • Apenebea House, Adjacent Everpure Factory, Tema Light Industrial Area
  • Open from Monday to Saturday: 8 AM to 5 PM.

PureRelations

  • Ashalebotwe School Junction
  • Open every day for 24 hours

Legacy Internet Cafe – Madina

  • Madina Rawlings Circle
  • Open every day for 24 hours

Legacy Internet Cafe – Circle

  • Adabraka 1st Traffic Light, Adjacent Mr. Biggs
  • Open every day for 24 hours

Ardor Consult

  • Dome Vulcanizer
  • Open from Monday to Saturday: 8am to 5pm

Note: The registration fee at these centers are GHS10.

Complete Training

Once you have completed your registration, we will send you an SMS with a link to take the training.

If you initially signed up to drive in the wrong city, please let us know ASAP so we can make the necessary corrections.


Activation

After you have completed the training, your application will be processed as soon as possible. You will receive an SMS with a link to create a password to log in to your account.

You have a period of 48 hours thereafter to complete your first trip to activate your profile.

Source: Bolt Ghana