Spiro raises $100 million, the largest investment ever in e-mobility in Africa

The story of electric mobility in Africa has often been one of promise compared to progress. Infrastructure is scarce, power grids are unreliable, and most markets are still powered by cheap imported motorcycles. But Spiro, headquartered in Dubai, has spent the past two years trying to rewrite that narrative.

The company has just announced a $100 million investment round led by the Africa Export Development Fund (FEDA), the development arm of Afreximbank. This increase represents the largest ever investment in electric mobility in Africa, and reinforces Spiro’s position as the most aggressive electric motorcycle company on the continent.

Spiro says it plans to deploy more than 100,000 electric bikes across Africa by the end of 2025, a 400% jump year-on-year that underscores its ambition to dominate a category long considered too fragmented.

Spiro’s growth has been amazing. When CEO Kaushik Burman joined two years ago from Taiwanese battery-swapping giant Gogoro, the startup had just 8,000 electric bikes and 150 exchange stations spread between neighboring Benin and Togo.

Today, it operates in six countries – including Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda – with more than 60,000 bikes deployed and 1,500 swap stations, where riders can replace depleted batteries with freshly charged ones. Bormann told TechCrunch that battery exchanges rose from 4 million in 2022 to more than 27 million this year.

Burman says the secret behind this growth is a business model that was designed to fit the realities of Africa.

In African cities, motorcycle taxis are known as boda boda In Kenya or Okadas In Nigeria – transporting people and goods across crowded cities and rural towns alike. However, fuel costs are tough for the millions of passengers who depend on it.

“These drivers spend 10 to 12 hours on the road every day, covering 150 to 200 kilometers while paying high fuel costs,” Burman said. “At the end of each day, most of them barely save anything.” “That’s why electric mobility, especially through the battery swap model, fits this category perfectly. They can’t afford downtime and save some money.”

This is the wedge that Spiro leans into. According to Burman, its electric bikes cost about 40% less up front than new gasoline models. In Kenya and Rwanda, where a typical gas bike sells for $1,300 to $1,500, Spiro e-bikes cost about $800, and cost about 30% less per kilometer, since swapping batteries is cheaper than refueling, he says.

This combination of low cost and faster payback has made the Spiro model attractive to taxi drivers. Bormann claims that most riders — who pay a daily fee to access its power grid — save up to $3 a day on fuel and maintenance. “This is enough to buy another bike or start a small business over time,” the CEO noted.

Spiro generates revenue from bicycle sales and its battery swap network. Riders buy or rent a Spiro bike, get a charged battery from a swap station, and pay only for the energy they use. Each swap station contains dozens of batteries that are continuously recharged, ensuring no downtime. Riders are billed via a special algorithm that measures energy use.

The network itself is Spiro’s profit engine: by owning the battery infrastructure and charging a small fee for each swap, the company quickly achieves economies of scale. “In addition to battery swapping, we also use renewable energy sources and energy storage to ensure our grid remains operational even during power outages,” Bormann said.

Spero’s swap stations are located at gas stations, malls, and even religious institutions, a network built through partnerships that also creates local job opportunities.

To meet the growing demand and increase employment opportunities, the three-year-old startup has established four assembly and manufacturing facilities across Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda. These factories assemble bicycles and key components such as traction motors, controllers and batteries.

Spiro already assembles batteries in Kenya using its own battery management system (BMS) and plans to boost local sourcing from 30% today to 70% within two years, including plastics, helmets and brake components, according to Bormann.

The $100 million round — including $75 million from FEDA and the rest from other strategic investors — will help fund this expansion. This follows previous investments of more than $180 million, a combination of debt and equity from Equitane Group (Spiro’s parent company) and Société Générale.

The new capital will be directed towards expanding Spiro’s exchange network, manufacturing capacity, research and development, as well as launching pilot projects in new markets such as Cameroon and Tanzania.

As it expands, Spiro must face increasing competition from other EV startups like Ampersand, ROAM, Max, or BasiGo. But Borman argues otherwise.

“Our competition is the petrol bike sector, both the premium and used bike segments, and the millions of potential riders who do not yet own a bike or lack access to affordable transportation and employment.”

Africa has about 25 million motorcycles, compared to 320 million in India, despite similar population sizes. “This 13-fold gap shows the scale of the opportunity we have,” he said.