Dubai-headquartered Spiro just closed the largest e-mobility investment in African history - a $100 million round led by Afreximbank's development arm that signals institutional confidence in electric transportation across the continent. The funding comes as Spiro races to deploy over 100,000 electric bikes by year-end, targeting Africa's millions of motorcycle taxi drivers who burn through costly fuel daily.
Africa's electric mobility revolution just got its biggest vote of confidence. Spiro, the Dubai-based e-bike startup that's been quietly building Africa's largest battery-swapping network, announced a $100 million funding round that dwarfs every previous African EV investment.
The Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the development arm of Afreximbank, led the $75 million portion of the round, with strategic investors filling the remainder. It's a massive bet on CEO Kaushik Burman's vision to electrify Africa's motorcycle taxi industry - a market that moves millions of people daily but has remained stubbornly dependent on imported gas bikes.
"These drivers spend 10 to 12 hours on the road every day, covering 150 to 200 kilometers while paying high fuel costs," Burman told TechCrunch. "At the end of each day, most barely save anything. That's why electric mobility, especially through a battery-swapping model, fits this segment perfectly."
The numbers back up his confidence. When Burman joined from Taiwanese battery giant Gogoro two years ago, Spiro had just 8,000 bikes scattered across Benin and Togo. Today, it operates 60,000 bikes across six countries - Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Benin, and Togo - with 1,500 swap stations where riders exchange dead batteries for charged ones in under a minute.
Battery swaps have exploded from 4 million in 2022 to over 27 million this year, creating a network effect that's proving harder for competitors to replicate. Each swap generates revenue through Spiro's proprietary algorithm that bills riders based on actual energy consumption, while the bikes themselves cost around $800 - roughly 40% less than comparable gas models that sell for $1,300-$1,500 in Kenya and Rwanda.
The economics work because African motorcycle taxi drivers - known as boda bodas in Kenya or okadas in Nigeria - are burning through expensive fuel on grueling daily routes. Spiro's riders save up to $3 daily on fuel and maintenance costs, according to Burman. "That's enough to buy another bike or start a small business over time," he said.
