Nigeria startup to expand electric vehicle use in African push

Nigeria startup to expand electric vehicle use in African push

A Nigerian startup backed by private-equity firm Lightrock is looking to deploy electric vehicles in about eight African countries by next year as demand grows for investment in low-emission transport. Metro Africa Xpress raised $31m last year to develop an EV market on the continent, a challenging task due to the chronic power shortage in the region. The firm plans to enter nations including Egypt, Cameroon and Uganda by 2023 compared with just Nigeria and Ghana now, according to chief executive officer Adetayo Bamiduro. The investment will expand the company’s number of cars to 100,000 by next year from 8,000 currently, with the percentage of electric vehicles rising to 20 per cent from 4 per cent, Bamiduro said in an interview. The company is aiming to have a fleet entirely made up of EVs in the next 10 to 15 years, he said. “For African economies to be productive, it’s important for people and goods to be able to move around efficiently and safely,” he said. Max has partnerships with vehicle producers such as Yamaha and ride-hailing platform Bolt Technology OU as well as financial services firms to link cars to drivers. Although only a small percentage of the fleet