Motorcycle taxis – often called boda-bodas in East Africa and okadas in Nigeria and parts of West Africa – serve as the primary mode of transport for millions in Africa. Now, Chinese investors are pouring funds into the continent’s multibillion-dollar two-wheeler market, driving an energy shift from petrol to electric power.
The investors supply essential components and batteries for local assembly, while supporting infrastructure such as battery-swapping networks to ease the transition.
Last month, Shanghai-based NewTrails Capital, which counts Chinese smartphone giant Transsion Holdings as a major shareholder, made a US$55 million investment in Spiro, Africa’s largest electric two-wheeler provider.
The funding is part of a US$270 million financing round supported by Impact Fund Denmark, Equitane and the Fund for Export Development in Africa.
Transsion – the company behind the brands Tecno, Infinix and iTel – controls more than half of the continent’s mobile phone market, earning it the title “smartphone king of Africa”.
Spiro is using the funding to scale its mission to replace petrol-powered motorcycles with electric bikes and build a continent-wide battery-swapping network.
The deal opens the doors to Chinese suppliers, offering the manufacturing power and technology needed to grow quickly while avoiding common supply chain bottlenecks.
