Kenyan electric bus startup, BasiGo secured a $3 milliion (Ksh 396 million) investment from CFAO Group to ramp up production and delivery of electric buses in Kenya and Rwanda.
According BasiGo Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jit Bhattacharya, the amount is expected to help them deliver 1,000 locally assembled electric buses over the coming three years. This, the CEO added, will create 300 green manufacturing jobs in Kenya.
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The company revealed they have already received over 500 orders of its locally assembled electric buses from bus operators in Nairobi and an additional 100 from bus operators in Kigali.
“With CFAO’s strength and experience in the mobility industry. Customers/operators can trust that BasiGo is ready to deliver competitive, high-quality E-Bus solutions at scale,” said Bhattacharya.
The investment, in form of equity funding, is split between CFAO Kenya and Mobility54, the corporate venture capital arm of CFAO.
The funding follows a Framework Agreement for Collaboration the Government of Kenya signed jointly with Toyota Tsusho Corporation, CFAO Kenya, and CFAO Motor Kenya pledging support to Kenya to achieve carbon neutrality by establishing the green energy value chain, from energy generation to utilization.
“This is the start of a new era and through this investment, we are not only supporting the growth of the electric vehicle industry, but also contributing to the development of sustainable green energy value chain that will benefit communities across Africa. We are committed to playing our part in advancing clean energy initiatives and driving progress towards a more sustainable and prosperous future for Africa and beyond,” added Akira Wada, CFAO Kenya Managing Director.
