Watu and ARC partner to increase number of electric vehicles battery swap stations in Nairobi
Asset financing company, Watu Credit Limited has partnered with battery-as-a-service provider ARC Ride to increase number of EV battery swap stations in Nairobi.
According to Erick Massawe, Watu’s Kenya country manager, Watu decided to be involved in the EV development process because they’ve been exposed to the challenges that must be addressed to enable EV adoption across the continent.
ARC has put up 76 battery-swapping stations across Nairobi and its environs, with a target of having at least 100 stations by the end of this year.
“This is central to making more and more boda boda riders make the switch to EVs’’ says Massawe, a man who strongly believes that EV is the future.
The electric motorbikes, he adds, are being developed in Kenya through “extensive research” to ensure they meet local needs, and can be operated with “low maintenance” as they need no oil, chains, gears, and no fuel to operate.
“For most of our riders who use their bikes for business, what they care about is being able to run a more efficient business by spending less on fuel and also having an EV that they can use without worrying that the battery will run dry in the middle of nowhere,” says Massawe.
Watu has consistently been dedicating resources to the development of ARC Ride with an aim to further grow the electric motorbike sector in Kenya. In addition to supporting the production of EVs, the company is facilitating the set up of battery-swapping stations in Nairobi.
The swap sites are in various locations along Eastlands, Ngong Road, Githurai, Westlands, Kiambu Road, Kebete, Mombasa Road and Thika Super Highway. The battery swap stations serve at least 50 riders per day, and these numbers have been going up as the number of swap stations increase.
“We are expanding our network of automated swapping stations to ensure that electric boda customers can conveniently replace their batteries when the need arises. Customers can replace batteries in under a minute for as low as Sh 350 per day, for unlimited swaps,” ARC Ride, represented by George Songe, said.
To make them secure and accessible, the swap stations are set up through partnerships with food chain outlets such as Dominos and Artcaffe and fuel marketing firms such as Ola Energy.
The Kenyan government has prioritised the adoption of e-motorbikes into the boda boda sector, and Watu’s investment aligns with the efforts to improve access to charging infrastructure in Kenya. It will further contribute to meeting Kenya’s goal of ensuring that at least 5% of all recently imported vehicles are fully electric by 2025, as stated in the National Climate Change Action Plan.
“We want to offer financing solutions that not only make access to e-motorbikes affordable to our customers and accessible nationwide. This investment will boost their penetration and uptake as we play our part to contribute to a just transition,” Andrii Volokha, general manager for East Africa at Watu, said.
Watu, a company whose e-motorbike financing model enables customers to acquire an electric motorcycle for Sh450 daily, has been at the forefront of asset financing for two and three-wheeler vehicles. So far, it has financed the purchase of over 100 electric assets in Kenya.
