Tolu Williams’ history with electric motorcycles began as a simple hobby. A decade ago, this former lawyer passionate regarding mechanics brought his very first machine from Asia. To adapt it to the bumpy streets of his city, Lagos, the economic capital of Nigeria, he himself reinforced the chassis and the suspensions. Faced with the interest of relatives and less close, he repeated the operation “twice, then three, then four, and it finally became a real business”he says.
His company, Savenhart Technology (Siltech), assembles electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers for which he imports the battery and motor from Asia and Europe. The entrepreneur also worked on the development of a tailor-made model for the Nigerian start-up Metro Africa Xpress (MAX). This fast-growing subscription platform for motorcycle taxis and delivery people now markets its own electric scooters.
“The objective is to deploy 10,000 by 2024”says Tolu Williams on the phone from Ghana, where MAX is expanding. “This market is still very new, but if we look at the level of pollution and congestion in large African cities, everything suggests that electric two-wheelers have great potential on the continent”he says.
Less than 400 out of some 2.1 million registered vehicles
Compared to the American, European or Chinese car fleet, electric vehicles (cars and motorcycles) are still a rarity on the African continent. The data is patchy, but in Kenya, one of the most advanced countries in this technology, there are less than 400 out of some 2.1 million registered vehicles. However, projects are multiplying and several governments have begun to unveil ambitious plans.
In Uganda, for the new year, the president, Yoweri Museveni, announced that he was in discussion with “certain investors”so that the drivers of “boda-bodas” (motorcycle taxis in East Africa) can trade their petrol vehicles for electric two-wheelers. “Free, a simple exchange”he assured, without giving more details on the operation.
In Kenya, the official target is to have 5% electric vehicles of all types across the entire fleet by 2025. In Rwanda, the country that made the earliest commitment to support the movement, the price of electricity at charging stations is capped at the industrial rate, and these machines have been exempt from customs duties and VAT since 2021. The same exemptions have now been applied for a few months in Benin, where electric motorcycles , as in neighboring Togo, have begun to gain ground.
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