BasiGo has received a $5 million (Sh766.7 million) debt facility from a UK investor to ramp up local assembling of electric buses, in what is expected to cement its position as a leader in the clean mobility shift in public transport.
Jonathan Green, co-founder and chief financial officer of BasiGo revealed the capital injection from British International Investment (BII), UK’s development finance institution and impact investor.
BasiGo, which has deployed 19 electric buses across various routes in Nairobi, aims to grow the fleet to 1,000 buses across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in the next three years.
Kenya, like other nations, has embraced non-fossil-powered automobiles in the race to cut global carbon emissions and arrest the drastic effects of climate change.
“We are thrilled to receive this catalytic financial support from BII. It is a testament to our shared commitment towards building scalable climate solutions here within Africa,” Mr Green said on Tuesday.
The firm started rolling out the locally assembled buses last year in a partnership with the Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers. Last year, BasiGo received Sh804.5 million from venture capitalists in Silicon Valley to aid at the beginning of local manufacturing of electric buses and charging infrastructure.
BasiGo is caught up in a race with Swedish-Kenyan electric vehicle firm Roam amid a steadily growing demand for electric-powered vehicles.
