The investment is the largest single funding round in Africa’s two-wheel electric vehicle sector, strengthening Spiro’s mission in the continent’s transition to sustainable transport.

According to the company, $75 million of the total came from FEDA, supporting Spiro’s focus on battery-swapping infrastructure and local manufacturing. The new capital will support the expansion of Spiro’s battery-swapping network, vehicle production, and entry into new markets such as Cameroon and Tanzania.

“Africa is at an inflection point in personal mobility. Riders are rapidly shifting from internal combustion motorcycles to Spiro’s more affordable and accessible battery-swapping ecosystem and motorcycles,” said Kaushik Burman, chief executive officer of Spiro. 

“For the first time, riders are embracing sustainable transportation because it performs better, costs less to operate, and offers greater profitability than traditional gas-powered vehicles.”

Burman noted that the latest funding will boost Spiro’s goal of deploying over 100,000 electric motorcycles by the end of 2025, representing a 400% year-on-year growth.

Currently, the company operates more than 50,000 electric bikes and 1,000 battery-swapping stations across six countries, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, Benin, and Togo, with pilot programmes already launched in Tanzania and Cameroon.

Since its founding in 2022 by Gagan Gupta, Spiro has focused on solving one of Africa’s toughest transport problems, high fuel costs and unreliable infrastructure. Its model combines affordable electric motorcycles with a subscription-based battery-swapping system, enabling riders to exchange depleted batteries for fully charged ones in minutes. In Kenya, a single battery swap costs about KES 290 ($2.24), cheaper than refuelling with petrol.

FEDA’s investment also shows a global vision for industrial growth and intra-African trade.

“We are delighted to partner with Spiro on this transformative initiative. Our investment reflects Afreximbank’s strong commitment to building a competitive and sustainable mobility sector in Africa,” said Professor Benedict Oramah, president of Afreximbank and Chairman of the Boards of Directors of Afreximbank and FEDA. 

“Together, we are laying the groundwork for a new era of intra-African trade and industrialisation by stimulating local vehicle manufacturing, strengthening regional integration, and enhancing trade flows.”

Spiro says its operations are already stimulating local economies. In Kenya, for instance, the company assembles its bikes using completely knocked-down (CKD) kits, with parts locally assembled by a workforce that includes a female-led motor assembly line. Across East and West Africa, the company has facilitated over 23 million battery swaps, covering approximately 800 million kilometres.

Burman explained that riders benefit directly from lower operational costs and steady earnings. Many save up to 30% per kilometre compared to petrol motorcycles, thanks to reduced fuel and maintenance expenses. The company’s model, which charges riders based on energy consumption, ensures they only pay for what they use, making electric transport more predictable and sustainable.

The funding will also support research, renewable energy integration, and new use cases in energy distribution. Beyond mobility, Spiro aims to strengthen Africa’s energy resilience by connecting its battery-swapping stations to renewable power sources, ensuring uninterrupted service even during outages.

“Spiro’s success to date is a clear demonstration of the strength and scalability of its business model,” said Marlene Ngoyi, CEO of FEDA. “The company’s rapid growth and strong market adoption underscore the significant demand for affordable, sustainable mobility solutions across Africa. With its integrated approach, Spiro has built a platform that is both commercially viable and socially impactful.”

Before this round, Spiro had raised over $180 million from Equitane and Société Générale. The combined investments now make the company one of Africa’s most capitalised electric mobility startups, with total financing reaching $280 million.

“We are proud to welcome FEDA as a strategic investor as we accelerate the growth of Spiro’s mission to transform mobility, energy storage, and distribution across Africa,” said Gagan Gupta, founder of Spiro. “Spiro’s rapid expansion into new markets reflects the continent’s strong appetite for clean, affordable, and efficient transportation.”

With a focus on localisation, affordability, and sustainability, Spiro is building a new mobility ecosystem to support Africa’s transport needs

He made the remark in an exclusive interview with Techeconomy correspondent on Tuesday.

According to Adonri, the objectives for the establishment of FEDA are quite laudable.

It will fill a gap in the financing of bankable export oriented activities that will promote intra-African trade which AfCFTA seeks to promote.

Nigeria officially signed the Establishment Agreement for the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), an impactful investment platform managed by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

With this accession, Nigeria becomes the 16th nation to join the Agreement, denoting the growing interest FEDA receives from African countries.

This announcement comes three decades after Afreximbank’s started operations in Nigeria, marking an important moment and Nigeria’s unwavering dedication to bolstering both Afreximbank and FEDA’s objectives.

The Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA) serves as Afreximbank’s impact investment arm, established to offer equity, quasi-equity, and debt capital.

Its primary aim is to bridge the substantial funding gap, especially in equity, essential for catalyzing transformation within Africa’s trade sector, amounting to billions of dollars.

The signing of the FEDA Establishment Agreement is anticipated to facilitate its ratification in the foreseeable future, further empowering FEDA’s initiatives in Nigeria and beyond.

David said:

“For Nigeria to benefit from the fund, the country’s heavy industrial base must be available to support the commercial enterprises and light industries that will financed by FEDA to produce goods and services that will be competitive in the international market arena. I don’t think FEDA will finance a nation’s engineering infrastructure.

Expressing excitement on the development, Prof. Kenneth Oramah, the president and chairman of the Board of the Afreximbank and FEDA, said that the partnership will boost trade development across the continent.

He said,

“We extend our sincere appreciation to the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the signing of the FEDA Establishment Agreement. This significant achievement further strengthens the already robust partnership between Afreximbank and Nigeria, one of the Bank’s foremost supporters. The partnership will enhance investments in sectors critical to the development journey of Nigeria.”

Countries that have also signed FEDA’s Establishment Agreement comprise Rwanda, Mauritania, Guinea, Togo, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Sierra Leone, São Tomé and Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, and Egypt.

The move, according to a statement released yesterday by Afreximbank, is to realize Nigeria’s power sector roadmap – one of the country’s top power generation businesses, with a capacity of more than 430 megawatts, is a very strategic asset.

FEDA is the development impact investment platform of Afreximbank with a mission to increase intra-African commerce, export development, and industrialization in Africa.

The statement claims that FEDA intends to assist the company as a minority investor and collaborate with the current owners and management group to propel the company’s growth over the following several years.

According to the statement, FEDA aims to support the business as a minority investor and work with the current owners and management team to drive the expansion of the business over the next few years.

Commenting on the deal, the Chairman, Board of Directors, Geregu Power Plc, Mr. Femi Otedola said, “as the pioneer Power Generation Company on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the interest shown by FEDA, is an expression of its firm belief not only in the Company but also in the future of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).”

He added, “in a period of contracting economic activity globally, to attract this investment from FEDA is a testament to our long-term strategic plans and will accelerate our expansion to the wider West African Market.”

According to Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of Afreximbank and Chairman of FEDA platform entities, “We are very pleased with this proposed investment, which marks a critical step towards supporting Nigeria’s power sector and, more broadly, towards advancing Africa’s industrialization and energy security.

“Without adequate power, Africa cannot achieve global export competitiveness. Afreximbank and its subsidiaries, including FEDA, are focused on creating a level playing field so that African products can compete at near equal footing with those originating from other markets.

We hope that this approved investment will take us closer toward that goal”