BasiGothe Kenyan electric vehicle manufacturer ensured $5 million in debt financing from British International Investments (BII)the UK’s growth finance institution and impact investor, to scale up the local assembly of 100 electric buses.
Details
The buses will be delivered through BasiGo’s innovative Pay-As-You-Drive financing model, which allows bus operators to acquire electric buses without incurring the high initial costs.
BII’s financial support will be crucial to the transition of Kenya’s public transport from diesel-powered vehicles to modern electric buses. Each electric BasiGo bus deployed in Nairobi in place of a diesel bus mitigates over 50 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
What they say
“We are excited to receive this catalytic financial support from BII. It is a testament to our shared commitment to building scalable climate solutions here in Africa,” he said Jonathan GreenCo-founder and Chief Financial Officer of BasiGo.
“Because electric buses in Kenya are powered by the country’s abundance of renewable energy, the electrification of public transport in Kenya has transformative potential. Electric buses promise freedom from fuel imports, cleaner air, modern and affordable transport for the general public and a significant impact on reducing CO2 emissions in transport. BII recognizes this opportunity and its support for BasiGo will allow us to deliver on this promise immediately.” he added.
Chris ChijiutomiManaging Director, Head of Africa at BII, said “With 75 years of impact investing across Africa, it’s exciting to work with businesses on the frontiers of tackling climate change. BasiGo is a pioneer, revolutionizing public transport in Kenya with the potential to reduce 5 million tonnes of CO2 in Nairobi alone. BII’s Climate Innovation facilities were designed to help scale cutting-edge, impactful technologies with the potential to transform the lives of people and communities in Africa. We are pleased to partner with BasiGo through this facility.”
Record
Founded in 2021, BasiGo has spearheaded the introduction of electric buses to Nairobi’s public transport fleet. BasiGo has developed 19 electric buses to public transport operators in Nairobi, which currently represent the largest fleet of electric buses in sub-Saharan Africa. BasiGo electric buses have driven over 1 million kilometers, they have carried over 1.2 million passengers and reduced around 500 tonnes of CO2 since they started operating.
Digging deeper
The electric buses funded by this facility will be assembled locally in Kenya, creating a new green manufacturing hub for modern electric vehicles.
The first batch of locally assembled BasiGo electric buses recently started production at Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers, one of the country’s leading car assembly plants.
BasiGo has already received over 350 deposits from bus companies in Nairobi who want to reserve the company’s first production units. BasiGo aims to deploy 1,000 locally assembled electric buses in East Africa over the next 3 years.
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