A few weeks back, we informed you about a company called Roam Electric, that unveiled its electric motorcycles in western Kenya. The company hopes to capitalize on the current trend that has seen the adoption of electric vehicles in Kenya. We are still not there but we will get to levels seen in other countries soon.
To make it easier for interested individuals to acquire the Roam motorcycles, the company has announced a new partnership with with M-KOPA to deliver a fleet of motorcycles by the end of 2022.
According to Roam, partnership with a company like M-KOPA can help the underbanked customers get its products without collateral. “M-KOPA will aid in the deployment of the motorcycles through its innovative ‘Pay-As-You-Go’ model, which allows customers instant access to products while building ownership over time through flexible micro-payments,” said Mikael Gånge, co-founder and chief commercial officer, Roam.
M-KOPA is very popular but tends to be quite expensive which some people say is just taking advantage of those with no access to traditional financial services. The company disputes this but still from looking at how they operate, it is clear they are not the cheapest providers out there.
Move towards Electric mobility
As Kenya moves towards adoption of electric mobility, companies like Roam want to champion that. Kenya’s president-elect, William Ruto, promised to invest in this sector and this might be good news for companies like Roam. If implemented well, Kenya might be the leader in electric mobility in the continent.
Back in January, Car and General also announced that it will start selling electric vehicles and tuk-tuks as it plans to diversify into the ‘green’ mobility business.
BasiGo plans to launch a fleet of electric buses in Kenya and this might be a game changer for the public transport sector.
Read: Kenya Power to start piloting electric vehicle charging stations in Nairobi and Nakuru