BasiGo Secures Massive Funding in Series A Equity Program
After bagging $3 million in funding to scale up production in April, BasiGo is making more strides in the electrification of transport systems in Sub-Saharan Africa and has secured massive funding totalling US$24 million from an equity funding round and $17.5 million in debt investment. This marks the largest investment ever recorded in the EV industry in Sub-Saharan Africa, at least according to the company. The equity funding round was led by Africa50 and supported by co-investors including Novastar Ventures, CFAO Kenya, Mobility54, SBI Investment, Trucks VC, Moxxie Ventures, and Susquehanna Foundation.
The Series A funding has also paved the way for a $17.5 million loan with a $10 million loan facility coming from the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for BasiGo Kenya and another $7.5 million debt facility from British International Investment (BII) to facilitate the deployment of more BasiGo’s E-bus in Rwanda.
While the investment will go into providing more electric buses in Rwanda, BasiGo will utilize the funds in its electric bus assembly line situated at Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers, setting the stage for the expansion of BasiGo’s Pay-As-You-Drive platform. The investment is also beneficial to produce new models of EVs and scale up the company’s technology platforms like Jani which make electric buses more accessible and convenient for passengers.
This latest funding achievement will further accelerate BasiGo’s plan to electrify the East Africa transport system with 1000 electric buses in the next three years as new EV models are anticipated to hit the streets across the region.
It is said that the massive funding indicates BasiGo’s dedication to fostering sustainable economic avenues for Sub-Saharan Africa. Jit Bhattacharya, CEO of BasiGo remarked: “The combined equity and debt investment into BasiGo validates our business model and enables BasiGo to focus on scale and profitability. With BII’s support to expand our E-bus model in Rwanda, we are ready to deliver hundreds of modern, emissions-free electric buses across East Africa.”
In an expression of support for BasiGo’s commitment to electrifying the East Africa transport system, Raza Hasnani, Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure Investments at Africa50 says: “BasiGo is well positioned to scale in East Africa and beyond given its world-class engineering and operations teams, strong value proposition to transport operators and the calibre of strategic and financial partners assembled by the founders.”
Seema Dhanani, Head of Office, Kenya and Coverage Director, East Africa at BII, says: “We are delighted to support BasiGo as it expands into Rwanda. This marks a significant step in electrifying the local public transport sector, reducing pollution, and combating climate change impacts. This is in line with our priority of supporting e-mobility to foster sustainable economic growth.”
Author: Abdulwaliy Oyekunle
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