Mr Viral
BasiGo, the electric bus builder has announced an upcoming delivery of 28 new electric buses expected to arrive in Kigali next month to serve both city and inter-city routes and part of its plans to have deploy 100 electric buses across the country in 2025.
The firm today announced that the first batch of the buses is already en route to Kigali and it has already received over 360 reservations for Electric buses from Rwandan bus operators who seek to either replace their aging diesel buses or expand their fleet.
“BasiGo is proud to be delivering the largest shipment of electric buses to date into Rwanda,” said Jit Bhattacharya, CEO and Co-Founder at BasiGo. ” Rwanda’s commitment to sustainable transport has created an ideal environment for private sector investment and innovation into E-mobility. With this first major shipment of electric buses, BasiGo is proud to help Rwanda take a major step towards the goal of universal, electrified public transport for the country. “
To support the deployment of these buses, the company is also expanding its charging infrastructure network, including upgrading its Rwandex charging and service depot. The Rwandex depot will feature 1 MW of power capable of reliably charging 25 electric buses nightly. More charging stations will be deployed across the country to support inter-city operations. Through BasiGo’s Pay-As-You-Drive model, the company provides a complete solution that includes charging, service & maintenance, and insurance of the E-Bus, along with a 90% uptime guarantee, ensuring that Bus Operators can easily adopt E-Buses into their fleets.
In 2022, BasiGo raised $6.6 million in new funding led by Mobility54, the corporate venture capital arm of Toyota Tsusho; Trucks VC, a transportation-focused venture capital fund in Silicon Valley; and Novastar Ventures, a global VC supporting entrepreneurs transforming markets in Africa after raising a $4.3 million Seed funding round to help commercialise its electric bus business model and launch local assembly of electric buses in Kenya in February of the same year.
In November 2023, BasiGo received a grant of $1.5 million from USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures and another $5 million in debt funding from British International Investment (BII) through its Climate Innovation Facility to accelerate climate innovation in emerging markets in December.
In March 2024, BasiGo secured $3 million in equity funding from CFAO Group (CFAO), a major player in various industries across Africa and owned by Toyota Tsusho Corporation in Japan and $10 million in May to revolutionize Kenya’s public transport from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s (DFC). These was disbursed in August 2024 in September BasiGo partnered with Tata International to pilot test of Indian electric bus models using Tata Motors electric buses in Africa in Nairobi, Kenya.
In October 2024, BasiGo raised $42 million in new capital with $24 million in Series A equity funding along with US$17.5 million in debt facilities in a move expected to deliver 1,000 electric buses in East Africa.
BasiGo launched its Electric Bus pilot in Rwanda in December 2023, and it has grown its reservation book to over 360 units and counting. “Over the last 15 months, we have proven the reliability of our electric buses and the value of our model to the Bus Operators. We are confident in our capacity to meet the Rwandan bus market needs,” said Doreen Orishaba, Managing Director of BasiGo Rwanda.
BasiGo has also hired Jones Kizihira as Head of Vehicle Asset Finance to lead the development of tailored financing solutions to accelerate the adoption of electric buses by Rwandan bus operators.
This expansion positions BasiGo as a pivotal player in Rwanda’s transportation transformation, aligning with the country’s Vision 2050 sustainability goals. The deployment of 100 electric buses is expected to reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 3,000 tons annually while creating hundreds of jobs for locals.
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