On Wednesday, Roam, a Kenyan based EV Mobility startup announced that it had raised $24M equity and debt Series A funding. The US International Development Finance Corporation also made a $10M debt commitment to the startup.
There was participation from a number of investors in the round led by Equator, a VC fund focused on climate tech in Africa, other participants included; Renew Capital, The World We Want, One Small Planet, At One Ventures among others.
Roam started its life in Kenya as Opibus in 2017 before rebranding to Roam in 2022. The rebrand was to better fit the company’s growth prospects into a broader range of EV products and as a strategic shift towards electrifying Africa’s transportation sector and beyond.
Founded by Gardler, Filip Lövström and Mikael Gånge, the company started by specializing in the conversion of diesel and gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles after which they ventured into full electric vehicle manufacturing where they have so far managed to put both electric motorcycles and busses on Kenyan roads
Late last year Roam had already received orders for about 50 busses and was to start delivering them this year. The busses are designed by Roam, assembled locally with parts sourced from China and are estimated to go for about $135,000.
The busses come in two types, Roam Rapid which is 77-90 passenger seater, has a range of 360km when fully charged, 70km/h top speed and a charging time of 1.5 hours, and Roam Move which can seat 51 people or 41 people depending on the buyer’s choice, has a range of 200km when fully charged, a top speed of 80km/hr and a charging time of 1.5 hours to full charge as well.
The funds raised are aimed at helping Roam increase the production of both their motorcycle and bus units so that they can meet the increasing demand. The funds will also go into R&D as well as improving supply chain networks.
Other players in EV include BasiGo, which has also been keen on helping public transport operators in Kenya move towards electric vehicles. They recently partnered with Metro, one of Nairobi’s most established public transport operators to add EV busses to their fleet. A few other companies in EV are Ampersand, eBee, Ecobodaa to mention a few.
As the push for climate tech in Africa continues to grow, we will see these companies raise more funding as they try to meet demand for EV products on the continent.
