Spiro raises Sh7bn to expand e-motorbike production, battery-swapping

Electric motorcycle company Spiro has raised $55 million (Sh7 billion) in fresh funding to accelerate its local manufacturing plans and expand its battery-swapping network across Africa.

The capital injection comes from Chinese investment fund NewTrails Capital. It follows the e-mobility company’s $215 million (Sh27.8 billion) funding earlier this month, bringing the total equity round to $270 million (Sh35 billion), one of the largest recent capital injections into the region’s e-mobility sector.

Spiro told Business Daily that the new investment will support efforts to localise motorcycle design, development and manufacturing while expanding its battery-swapping infrastructure.

The company has already acquired UK engineering and design firm Coexlion and is planning a research and development (R&D) centre in Nairobi to build prototypes and improve motorcycle development for African markets.

“This partnership (with NewTrails Capital) will be instrumental to support Spiro’s current manufacturing and supply chain localisation effort on the continent, in particular with Chinese suppliers,” Spiro said.

Local push

Founded in 2022, Spiro is a subsidiary of Dubai-based investment vehicle Equitane and has its operational headquarters in Nairobi.

The company assembles motorcycles in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda using knockdown kits imported from China, with some components sourced from India.

Spiro says it has deployed more than 100,000 electric motorcycles in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, Togo, Benin and Cameroon. Most are used by commercial motorcycle taxi operators, commonly known as boda bodas.

The company also operates more than 2,500 battery-swapping stations, making it Africa’s largest electric motorcycle operator.

In addition to the planned Nairobi R&D centre, Spiro has said it will use the new capital to support expansion into the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia.

Growth plans

R&D centres serve as innovation hubs where engineers and researchers develop new technologies, build prototypes and improve products for commercial deployment.

For Spiro, the facility is expected to strengthen its ability to design and manufacture electric motorcycles tailored to African road conditions while building in-house engineering, technology and manufacturing capabilities.

“In our view, Spiro’s core strengths lie in its deeply localised operating capabilities, vertically integrated supply chain, digitally enabled ecosystem, sound unit economics, and strong ability to scale rapidly,” said Yufan Zhang, founding partner of NewTrails Capital.

Spiro’s earlier investment round this month was led by Impact Fund Denmark, Denmark’s development finance institution, alongside Equitane.

Since 2022, the company has raised more than $552 million (Sh71.5 billion).

Venture capital investors have increasingly backed companies seeking to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and lower transport emissions through electric mobility.

Kenya-based startups such as Spiro, Arc Ride, Roam and BasiGo have announced multi-billion-shilling funding rounds as investors target the country’s large motorcycle market, renewable-powered electricity grid and supportive e-mobility policies.

The sector has also reported increased interest following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, a key oil shipping route for Africa, which pushed up fuel prices in Kenya and strengthened the economic case for electric transport.