FlxEV to Advance Electric Minibus Taxi Deployment in South Africa with Technical Assistance from the SCF

Image credits: Charging Hub, FlxEV

The Subnational Climate Fund (SCF) has approved a second tranche of technical assistance (TA) grant funding in support of FlxEV’s eKamva programme, advancing South Africa’s first commercial electric minibus taxi (e-MBT) electrification initiative toward full investment readiness. This approval marks a significant milestone in SCF’s phased engagement with FlxEV, reflecting the programme’s demonstrated progress and the strength of the emerging investment case for e-MBT deployment at scale.

South Africa’s minibus taxi sector is a critical artery of urban and peri-urban mobility, serving millions of low-income commuters daily while contributing significantly to urban transport emissions. FlxEV’s eKamva programme addresses this challenge through a structured lease-to-own model that enables operators to transition to electric minibus taxis without prohibitive upfront capital outlays, bundling vehicles, batteries, charging access, and maintenance into a single, affordable financial product.

SCF’s inaugural TA grant supported the pre-feasibility phase of the programme, encompassing stakeholder mapping, regulatory assessment, preliminary financial modelling, and technology scoping. The second TA grant now approved will advance the programme into a full feasibility study, generating the investor-grade analysis required to mobilise senior and subordinated private capital for scale-up.

Scope of the Second Technical Assistance Grant

The second TA grant will finance a comprehensive feasibility study encompassing:

• Detailed financial modelling and investment structuring: Development of robust, site-specific financial projections and capital structuring options to underpin the investment case for institutional and private investors.
• Operator and commuter economics assessment: In-depth analysis of operator affordability, revenue dynamics, and commuter fare sensitivity to validate the commercial viability of the lease-to-own model.
• Charging infrastructure planning: Technical and commercial assessment of charging infrastructure siting, technology selection, and grid-solar hybrid configuration to support fleet operations at scale.
• Regulatory and institutional engagement: Structured dialogue with national and provincial taxi associations, sector regulators, and local authorities to ensure policy alignment and secure the necessary approvals for commercial deployment.
• Gender and social inclusion framework: Design of targeted interventions to increase women’s participation in transport services and associated high-value economic activities.
• Scale-up and replication pathways: Definition of expansion strategies across South African provinces, including underserved routes and commuter segments, informed by pilot performance data.

Programme Progress — eKamva Commercial Pilot

The second TA approval is underpinned by significant operational momentum from the eKamva commercial pilot, which has been progressing in parallel. FlxEV successfully mobilised a blended finance capital structure — comprising grant funding from the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), acting as fund manager of the Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP Africa) Trust Fund, with co-financing from uYilo and GoMetro — to finance South Africa’s first commercial e-MBT pilot.

Extensive stakeholder engagement conducted across South African provinces has demonstrated strong market receptivity among operators and industry associations, validating demand-side conditions for commercial deployment.

Current Pilot Status:

• Fleet: 5 Higer eKamva electric minibus taxis in live commercial operations.
• Charging Infrastructure: An eKingPow / Duolon Tech portable charging unit operational at Century City taxi rank, with a planned transition to a hybrid grid-solar charging station as the pilot scales.
• Fleet Financing and Asset Management: Mobalyz providing financing facilitation, debt collection, insurance, and asset recovery services.
• Data and Monitoring: GoMetro telemetry and in-vehicle camera systems capturing real-time operational performance data to build the evidentiary base for the feasibility study and investor engagement.

The pilot is structured as an 18–20 month pre-revenue commercial validation exercise, with full fleet deployment anticipated within the next three to five months. Performance data generated across vehicle operations, charging infrastructure, leasing model viability, and unit economics will directly feed into the feasibility study financed under the second TA grant.

Expected Development Outcomes

About the Subnational Climate Fund

The Subnational Climate Fund is a blended-finance initiative supporting mid-sized infrastructure projects and companies in emerging markets. Through its Investment Fund and Technical Assistance Facility, SCF strengthens project fundamentals, enhances investment readiness and mobilises private capital for sustainable development outcomes across sectors including sustainable energy, waste management and regenerative agriculture. By focusing on early-stage project preparation, SCF bridges ambitious climate and nature objectives with the requirements of institutional investors, development finance institutions and philanthropic capital providers.

For further information on the FlxEV programme and SCF-supported studies, please refer to the project summary.