Transport

Start-up rides on boda bodas into green future

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Jesse Forrester, Co-Founder and CEO at Mazi Mobility. PHOTO | CAROLINE WAMBUI | NMG

Transport is one of the most pollutant sectors contributing more than a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions. This has prompted an urgent global need to decarbonise the sector.

Mazi Mobility Company, an electric automobile manufacturing firm, is one of the firms keen to tap on this switch to green technologies in a bid to beat climate change. The automaker assembles and sells electric motorbikes to customers.

The firm’s electric motorcycles and tuk tuks run on electricity stored in a battery pack and not on internal combustion engines.

The batteries are swapped in designated stations set up by the startup. This means once your battery runs out, you can replace it at one of the stations with a charged one.

The firm can also monitor the riders and the state of their batteries. When the battery is low, the riders are prompted to pass through a designated swapping station. It takes about where the company performs about 30 seconds to change the battery.

The riders are offered with a choice of either a single or dual battery, capable of working up to 70km and 140km respectively.

“By going electric, we are able to reduce the transportation costs by up to 50 per cent,” says Jesse Forrester, Mazi Mobility co-founder and CEO.

With a capital of Sh2 million, the startup embarked on transforming the transport sector towards “clean, smart and efficient energy”.

Currently the automaker serves a number of delivery companies, courier firms, boda boda riders and anyone who owns a motorcycle for commercial and private use.

“The motorbikes retail at Sh180,000. But there is an upfront cost that doesn’t need to be a concern for riders and customers as we have flexible repayments where one pays Sh 15,000 deposit and then Sh 450 per day for two years,” Mr Forrester says, adding that, “it costs approximately Sh300 for 140Kkm, putting us at 50percent cheaper than petrol.”

To ensure successful implementation of their services the company works with boda boda operators, technical institutions and manufacturers.

“Before we even sell a bike to a customer, the first concern is usually about whether they will find a place to charge their vehicles...At Mazi, we have decided to address this challenge head-on. We have built what are called Mazi Swap Stations (MaSS). Instead of plugging in your motorbike, we offer battery swaps,” Mr Forrester says.

“A battery swap is whereby you come to the MaSS and exchange a depleted battery for a fully charged one. It’s very similar to the gas cylinder model. In this way, we sidestep the long 6-8 hour charge times while ensuring that our customers can have access to on-demand energy whenever they need to.”

The firm, he says, enables “customers to keep doing what they do best, ride their motorbikes and we will handle the rest. In fact, the key change you should notice with a Mazi bike is the fact that you have more money in your pocket every single day”.

Swapping stations are currently four and are found in Nairobi’s Eastlands and Westlands and they hope to grow as the number of customers goes up.

The automaker currently has a clientele of about a thousand.

“Going electric is the future, as battery-powered electric vehicles are more efficient than petrol-driven ones. Not only are they more powerful off the line but they require less maintenance due to fewer moving parts. Moreover, they are noiseless, don’t pollute the environment, and allow for healthier living,” Mr Forester says, noting that with the way the world is going, petrol is only geared to get more and more expensive as demand for it falls. This means more people “would want to gravitate towards electric vehicles”.

“Additionally, electric vehicles will save the country a lot of money. Kenya spent Sh7 billion to subsidise oil in 2021, this will soon be a thing of the past. Imagine investing that into the youth, development projects, and culture,” he says.

“I see electric vehicles as a win for everyone. More cash in the government’s hands, more cash in Kenya Power’s hands, and most importantly more cash in the hands of ordinary Kenyans like you and me. This is why I dub this as the great green revolution.”

The main hurdle to the switch to greener transport is the upfront cost of electric vehicles and the distribution of swapping stations.

“These are the biggest reasons why there has been slow adoption. However, with the right incentives and policies, we can see a shift towards a cleaner and more efficient means of transport,” Mr Forrester says

“Mazi seeks to expand into tuk tuks, matatus and buses. We are concerned with the full mobility chain and my plan is to ensure that within the next five years 40 per cent of commercial and fleet vehicles are electric.”