BasiGo has secured KSh1.3 billion from United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to increase local assembly of its buses.
- According to BasiGo, the loan facility is also expected to help meet its orders from Nairobi matatu owners. The electric bus manufacturer also anticipate to create at least 300 green manufacturing jobs as a result on the new investment.
- BasiGo is also targeting to use the facility to expand its Pay-As-You-Drive model in Nairobi which gives operators access to its charging infrastructure nonstop.
- BasiGo currently has over 500 reservations for electric buses from Nairobi matatu operators.
“We are currently producing in partnership with Kenya Vehicles Manufacturers five buses per month. Our goal is to be raising that to 20 vehicles per month in the coming months with the overall aim of delivering 1,000 electric buses here in Kenya in the next three years,” said Bhattacharya.
The investment in BasiGo is part of the KSh32.3 billion announced by DFC during President Ruto’s US tour in May this year.
BasiGo Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Jit Bhattacharya said the new facility will boost the firm’s production capacity from the current five buses per month.
By the end of March this year, Basigo electric vehicles had driven 1.5 million kilometres in Kenya carrying 2.1 million passengers over the same period of time and side stepping over 680 tonnes of greenhouse gas emission.
Early this year, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) released guidelines for electric vehicle (EV) charging and battery swapping, effective 1st September.
The guidelines released in January summarise key considerations when designing, installing, and operating electric vehicle charging points and stations. According to EPRA, the purpose of the new rules is to make electric vehicle charging infrastructure accessible to all users, enable faster adoption of electric vehicles in Kenya, promote affordable tariffs chargeable from electric vehicle owners and charging station operators.
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