Another African EV Start-Up Using Chinese Technology Gets Seed Funding

File image of BasiGo-branded BYD electric buses. Image via BasiGo.

Kenya-based EV start-up BasiGo closed a $4.3 million seed funding round to assemble and sell electric-powered buses. The company plans to supply more than 1,000 mass transit electric buses to operators throughout Kenya over the next five years. Those buses, incidentally, will all be supplied by BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle giant.

This is part of a much bigger trend of early-stage African EV start-ups leveraging Chinese electric mobility solutions to build their businesses. In Ghana, Solar Taxi is importing EVs made by BYD, Dongfeng, and Chery to sell and rent. Plus, it also sells solar power solutions using panels imported from China.

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by Eric Olander

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