British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, has announced $5 million in debt funding for BasiGo Ltd.
- The $5 million investment will be used to scale local assembly of electric buses to cater to the rapidly growing demand from bus operators in Kenya.
- The buses will be delivered through BasiGo’s Pay-As-You-Drive financing model which enables bus operators to acquire electric buses without incurring the high upfront cost.
- Consequently, BII’s financing support will be crucial in transitioning Kenya’s public transport from diesel-powered vehicles to modern electric buses. Each BasiGo electric bus deployed in Nairobi in place of a diesel bus is expected to mitigate over 50 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
“Because electric buses in Kenya are powered by the country’s abundance of renewable energy, electrification of public transport in Kenya holds transformative potential. Electric buses promise freedom from fuel imports, cleaner air, modern and affordable transport for the general public, and significant impact in lowering transport CO2 emissions. BII recognizes this opportunity, and their support for BasiGo will enable us to directly deliver on that promise,” said Jonathan Green, Co-founder and Chief Financial Officer of BasiGo.
“BasiGo’s steps in public transport in Kenya has potential to mitigate 5 million tonnes of CO2 in Nairobi alone. BII’s Climate Innovation facility was designed to help scale impactful, cutting-edge technologies, with the potential to transform the lives of people and communities in Africa. We are delighted to partner with BasiGo via this facility,” added Chris Chijiutomi Managing Director, Head of Africa at BII
The electric buses financed by this facility will be assembled locally in Kenya, establishing a new green manufacturing hub for modern electric vehicles.
- BasiGo first batch of locally assembled electric buses recently began production at Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers, one of country’s leading automotive assembly plants.
- BasiGo has already received over 350 deposits from bus operators in Nairobi looking to reserve the company’s first production units.
- BasiGo aims to deploy 1,000 locally assembled electric buses in East Africa in the next 3 years.
BasiGo Secures US$1.5M Grant for E-mobility Pilot in Rwanda – Kenyan Wallstreet
