Electric cargo bike pilot starts in Ghana
Impact Hub Accra and Siemens Stiftung has just launched the project Electric Cargo Bikes ‘Made in Ghana.’ The first two workshops in Accra and Tamale will start operations in March and will use a business model focussed on small entrepreneurs in the delivery sector.
With this project funded by the International Climate Initiative, Impact Hub Accra and Siemens Stiftung aim to build a sustainable and local value chain for the production, operation, and maintenance of electric cargo bikes in collaboration with local and national stakeholders.
The project is predominantly based in Ghana’s capital, Accra, and its fourth-largest city, Tamale, where 50 electric cargo bikes are being trialed. Some of these are made locally from recycled materials. The project team is simultaneously trailling social-entrepreneurship business models and developing a financing system that aims to make the electric cargo bikes available to socioeconomically disadvantaged sections of the population.
Dr Nina Smidt, Managing Director and Spokesperson of the Board of Siemens Stiftung, explains: “The project is based on a social entrepreneurship business model that makes clean mobility accessible to lower income communities. Because it is designed as a financially sustainable structure, it has the potential to create a positive impact on Ghana’s society for the long-term, including job creation particularly for women, who will have secured equal access to all training positions on offer.”
The first workshops will begin with the assembling of electric cargo bikes and the technical testing of different bike types within the specific conditions in the operational area. To power the micromobility delivery vehicles, a network of five photovoltaic charging stations will be installed. This should begin establishing a charging infrastructure within the operating regions.
“As implementing partners in Ghana, we are looking at paving the way for more electric mobility solutions with this project. Our approach is to test and build sustainable business models and to create an advocacy platform together with other stakeholders to consistently promote climate-friendly solutions in the region”, says Will Senyo, Chief Executive Officer of Impact Hub Accra.
The International Climate Initiative is also funded by the federal German government through the Ministry for Environment.
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