The funding, which includes $24 million in equity and $17.5 million in debt, will support the company’s goal of delivering 1,000 electric buses over the next three years. 

The equity round was led by Africa50, with participation from Novastar Ventures, CFAO Kenya, Mobility54, and other key investors.

This capital will help BasiGo scale its electric bus services in both Kenya and Rwanda. In particular, the debt facilities provided by the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and British International Investment (BII) will help the company advance its electric bus deployment in these countries. 

The $10 million debt from DFC will primarily support BasiGo’s Kenyan operations, while the $7.5 million from BII will facilitate the expansion into Rwanda.

Jit Bhattacharya, CEO of BasiGo, stressed the company‘s focus on creating a cleaner and more sustainable environment for public transport in Africa. 

He noted that the funding validates BasiGo’s business model, allowing the company to focus on both scaling operations and achieving profitability. 

The investment also enhances BasiGo’s “Pay-As-You-Drive” programme, an innovative financing model that has made electric buses more accessible to public transport operators.

Again, the funds will be used to increase BasiGo’s manufacturing capacity at its assembly plant in Kenya and to introduce new types of vehicles. BasiGo’s electric buses, already in use in Nairobi, are being rolled out in Rwanda, where the company has launched a pilot project with six buses operating in Kigali and nearby regions. 

With over 300 reservations from Rwandan bus operators, the new capital will allow BasiGo to meet rising demand in the country.

Seema Dhanani, from British International Investment, spoke about the positive environmental impact this investment will have, particularly in reducing pollution from public transport. With more electric buses hitting the roads, both Kenya and Rwanda are expected to see notable improvements in air quality and public health.

This funding round is one of the largest investments in the electric mobility sector in Africa and bolsters BasiGo’s aim in the region’s transition towards cleaner, more sustainable transportation solutions, ensuring e-mobility attains resilience across sub-Saharan Africa.

BasiGo will leverage the capital to set up an assembly plant in Nairobi and launch the sales and delivery of its electric buses. The company has already set up a charging and servicing depot adjacent to Kenya’s main airport, the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, in the capital, Nairobi and has imported two electric buses for the pilot programme.

The round, which included participation from a number of existing and new Silicon Valley investors, such as Moxxie Ventures, Nimble Partners, Spring Ventures, Climate Capital and Third Derivative, was led by Novastar Ventures. 

Months after setting up operations in East Africa’s biggest economy, to provide clean-energy mass transit vehicles in a country that is heavily-reliant on fossil-fuel buses, BasiGo’s round comes as a green light to facilitating the achievement of sustainability across the country.

Founded by the company’s CEO, Jit Bhattacharya and Jonathan Green, the CFO, BasiGo is operated by individuals with experience in the sector.

Bhattacharya was initially a technology leader in rechargeable (lithium-ion) batteries for over 12 years. He has held executive positions in various companies, including at Mission Motors in Silicon Valley, Project Titan — the secret electric car project by Apple Inc. and at Fenix International, an off-grid home solar system company. Green has also spent the last 15 years working with different companies to deliver renewable energy technologies to users across Africa.

BasiGo plans to supply over 1,000 mass transit electric buses to transport operators in Nairobi over the next five years. To encourage the uptake of these vehicles, the startup will extend pay-as-you-drive credit options to drivers, and provide maintenance and charging services.

The pilot programme is scheduled to begin next month and the startup will join Swedish-Kenyan EV startup Opibus, whose inaugural locally manufactured electric bus hit Kenya’s roads three weeks ago. Both companies have set their eyes on the mass transit sector, which is slowly shifting to clean-energy options.

BasiGo will locally assemble its EV buses — which will come in 25- and 36-seater capacities, with a range of about 250 kilometers — using parts sourced from China’s EV maker BYD Automotive.