• Sector : Urban Development Solutions
  • Location : Rwanda
Man On A Scooter (1)

Overview

SCF is providing technical assistance to an e-mobility company in Kigali, Rwanda. By 2030, the project expects to have over 35,000 electric motorbikes deployed in Rwanda reducing approximately 51,637 Tons of C02 emissions.

The e-motos will be financed by the e-mobility company and will be leased to the e-moto taxi drivers using a Pay-as-you-drive system accessible through mobile money, removing the barriers preventing taxi drivers from accessing high-performance electric vehicles.

Picture, credit: Monaam Ben Fredj, CC BY-SA 4.0  via Wikimedia Commons

The Challenge

Africa is experiencing a rapid urbanization trend, with its population expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, resulting in an additional 950 million urban dwellers. Meeting the transportation needs of these expanding cities will demand significant investments in infrastructure.

Motorbikes play a substantial role in East African traffic, with an estimated 5 million in operation due to their affordability in terms of purchase and fuel consumption. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 90% of motorbike purchases are for commercial purposes, often utilized for taxi or delivery services.

Nevertheless, the escalating petrol prices due to the energy crisis are prompting drivers to reassess their economic viability. This has led to a growing interest in electric vehicles (EVs), which offer lower operational costs despite having a slightly higher initial investment compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) motorbikes.

In Rwanda, transportation is mostly based on ICE vehicles that have negative environmental impacts in the form of air pollution hazardous to health, emission of greenhouse gases that accelerate climate change, noise pollution, among others. The Rwanda National Greenhouse Gas Inventory shows that the taxi motorcycles are the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions the equivalent of 32.42% emissions from road traffic.

 

SCF’s Involvement- Technical Assistance

The SCF TA Facility has approved grants for:

  • A feasibility study to assess the Battery as a Service (BaaS) model
  • An environmental and social study

Our Target Impact

Our Target Impact

The main impact of the project is on reductions of emissions but other SDGs are expected to be positively impacted.

  • SDG 13 Climate Action

    SDG 13 Climate Action

    Facilitating the adoption of electric powered motorcycles will minimize the need for fossil fuel powered transport, avoiding carbon emissions and air pollution.

    By 2030, the project is expected to have over 35,367 motorbikes deployed in Rwanda reducing approximately 51,637 Tons of C02 emissions.

  • SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

    SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

    The unemployment rate in Rwanda is high, at 17%. Employment is also mostly informal (90%) indicating potential income security issues for many people.

    Pilot Project: Direct staff : 10

    Indirect – 9 mechanics for battery swappers to cover 113 moto riders

     

    Expected in 2030:

    Direct staff : 21

    Indirect  – 750 mechanics for battery swappers and 11,250 trained to cover 35,367 moto riders.

  • SDG 5 Gender Equality

    SDG 5 Gender Equality

    Rwanda scored 0.79 in the economic participation and opportunity area of the gender gap index in 2022. This indicates that women were 21% less likely to have equal economic participation and opportunities than men.

    The project will comply with SCF Gender Policy to create employment opportunities for women.

    The project may also benefit women by facilitating affordable transport and improving safety issues.

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