Spiro funding deepens Africa’s e-mobility race

Spiro has raised $215 million in equity financing to expand its electric motorcycles, battery-swapping network and energy infrastructure across Africa, marking one of the largest funding rounds for the continent’s clean mobility sector.

The Nairobi-based electric mobility platform said the investment was backed by institutional investors from Europe and Africa, including Impact Fund Denmark and Equitane, alongside continuing support from long-standing partners such as FEDA. The company did not disclose the valuation attached to the round.

The funding gives Spiro fresh capital to scale across its seven active markets of Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon, while accelerating planned entry into the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia. The company says it has deployed more than 100,000 electric vehicles and 2,500 smart battery-swapping stations, positioning itself as one of Africa’s largest e-mobility operators by fleet size and infrastructure reach.

Gagan Gupta, Spiro’s founder and chair of Equitane, described the past year as a strategic milestone for the company, saying its deployment across seven markets had helped make sustainable mobility an everyday option for riders. The next phase of growth is expected to focus on expanding access for motorcycle taxi drivers, delivery riders and urban commuters facing high fuel costs and unreliable public transport options.

Spiro’s model is built around electric two-wheelers and battery swapping, a structure designed to lower upfront costs and reduce downtime for commercial riders. Instead of waiting for a motorcycle to charge, riders exchange a depleted battery for a charged one at a swap station. The approach is gaining traction in cities where motorcycles play a central role in passenger transport, food delivery and last-mile logistics.

The company says its electric motorcycles can cut daily transport costs by up to 40 per cent, with some riders saving as much as $2 a day compared with petrol-powered motorcycles. For commercial riders operating on thin margins, those savings are central to adoption, particularly in markets where fuel prices remain volatile and vehicle financing costs are high.

The new capital will support expansion of Spiro’s battery-swapping network, local assembly and manufacturing capacity, digital systems and energy-related projects. The company operates manufacturing plants in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, and has a battery recycling facility in Nigeria. It is also working on solar-powered swap stations and second-life battery storage systems, which could help reduce pressure on national grids and improve energy resilience in areas with uneven power supply.

Africa’s electric mobility market remains small compared with China, Europe and the United States, but growth is strongest in two- and three-wheelers rather than passenger cars. High car prices, limited charging infrastructure and lower household purchasing power have slowed private EV adoption, while motorcycles offer a more practical entry point because they are widely used for daily income generation.

East Africa has emerged as a key testing ground for electric motorcycles, supported by dense motorcycle taxi networks, cleaner power grids in some markets and governments seeking to reduce fuel imports. Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda have drawn several mobility start-ups, while West African markets such as Benin, Togo and Nigeria offer scale through large urban populations and heavy use of two-wheel transport.

The sector, however, faces operational and regulatory hurdles. Riders in several markets have raised concerns about limited access to battery-swapping points outside major urban centres, proprietary battery systems that restrict interoperability, remote lockout risks and uneven after-sales service. Start-ups also face high capital needs, currency pressure, import duties, battery supply risks and the challenge of maintaining reliable infrastructure across countries with different regulatory frameworks.

Competition is also intensifying. Ampersand, Roam, Arc Ride, Gogo Electric and other mobility companies are building fleets, charging networks or vehicle platforms across African cities. Bus electrification companies are also targeting public transport routes, while global battery and vehicle manufacturers are monitoring the continent’s emerging demand.