Roam, a technology company that develops, designs and deploys electric vehicles tailored for the African continent, has secured additional funding to expand its operations
Africa’s electric mobility market is growing at a rapid rate with a persistent string of announcements around new developments in this field. By example, at the end of last year British International investment (BII) announced a debt funding for BasiGo to scale local assembly of electric bus solutions. Elsewhere, the rise of electric motorcycle, bike and scooter manufacturer Spiro shows little signs of slowing and, last year, the company unveiled plans to significantly expand its fleet in Togo and Benin.
Now, in another demonstration of the continent’s appetite for green transportation solutions, Roam has secured US$14mn in Series A equity funding led by Equator Africa alongside an additional US$10mn debt commitment from the US Government’s International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). This will allow the company to expand its production of locally-designed and manufactured electric motorcycles and buses and will support its mission to revolutionise African transportation with innovative products specifically designed for consumers in Africa.
Transitioning the transport sector
The Kenya-based company has already made a big impact in the East African country by providing greater flexibility and the option of battery ownership to its riders. This allows users to charge their batteries at a standard household outlet and significantly reduces their cost of operations whilst increasing the ability to travel longer distances. Roam is also increasing the utility of its motorcycles to riders through the deployment of Roam Hub stations, architecture electric motorcycle charging stations that offer a wide array of after-sales services including the option to rent additional batteries for a flexible period.
Rajal Upadhyaya, CFO of Roam, remarked, “As Africa embraces the move toward electric vehicle technology, we are proud of our impact on the environment and livelihoods across Kenya and the wider continent. This funding is a critical step for Roam to achieve our strategic objectives in scaling up and increasing utility to our customers.”
Roam has indicated it will invest the new funding to expand local manufacturing capabilities in Kenya and scale up production at its new 10,000 sq m Roam Park facility.
