E-mobility in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Opportunity with its Challenges
E-mobility in Africa has certainly made the headlines lately. As we are writing this, the last article was from ESI Africa and the industry has already been covered by the likes of CNN, CNBC and Bloomberg.
It is estimated that there are 15 million moto-taxis in Sub-Saharan Africa and that each year 1 million are being added. In Kenya alone, the boda-boda industry generates over $4M daily (Motorcycle Assembly Association of Kenya).
Add to that the fact that e-mobility solves huge health and climate problems and you have a headline with a great business opportunity.
“Between 2000 and 2016, Sub-Saharan Africa experienced a 75% increase in emissions, with transport emissions increasing by 153% in Ghana, 73% in Kenya, and 16% in Nigeria” according to the Changing Transport Organisation report.
Spirited entrepreneurs are taking up the challenge and building businesses that undoubtedly will benefit our cities, our health and our planet! However, disrupting an industry with new ideas, tech and business models always comes with its set of unknowns and challenges — at Upya Technologies, we know we can help.
A difficult riddle to crack!
As a CEO or team creating a business in a new space, your mind is constantly in “figuring out” mode.
With E-mobility, here are some of the highlights we are hearing:
Logistics: Most e-mobility companies import parts from Asia and assemble them locally. With the current chip shortage and the overall logistic nightmare of getting parts into the continent, this is a bigger problem than it should be. Another difficult exercise will be to reorder the next batch of parts; based on uncertain volume or traction assumptions. It is likely to require additional external investments to support upcoming orders.
Go-To-Market: Most will then lease the bikes to buyers. Targeting primarily the boda-boda communities in major urban cities such as Kigali, Nairobi, Kampala, Dar Es Salaam and Lagos. Some are looking at B2B opportunities partnering with companies owning a big fleet. Working with the likes of Uber Eats while leveraging its pool of drivers also represents a popular Go-To-Market approach.
The Swap Stations distribution and operations: Working on the crunchy details of batteries and their swapping stations:
- Do we own the swap stations, or do we externalize them, leveraging partnerships and existing points of sales?
- Where do we place them and how do we staff them?
- How can we make sure the swap is as efficient as that of a gas station?
- How to integrate the dealer network which facilitates swaps as well as aftersales and repairs?
Getting paid: Managing the payments for the bikes will be pretty straightforward: daily, weekly or monthly payments; with the PAYG model part of the daily life across most of Africa.
Managing the payments for batteries will be a tougher exercise:
- Much more daily payments per driver per station (estimated at 3 per day)
- Each swap requires a quick calculation of % charge coming in, % charge coming out.
- All that while the operator is changing the battery (sometimes cumbersome) and collecting/recording the payment.
The above is not an exhaustive list, as we did not cover other priorities such as defining and refining the design of the bikes, pushing for regulations, spending countless hours in policymaking and registering every bike.
Where Upya Technologies adds value
Upya is a SaaS/CRM partner for manufacturers and distributors in emerging markets that need to digitize, optimize and scale their operations. We are currently working across +20 countries in Africa and South-East Asia to deploy SHS, cookstoves, pico-solar, water filters, productive use equipment and more.
Within e-mobility, our existing solutions already address a variety of needs identified by most players in the industry:
Manage any payments schemes: cash, mobile money whether one-off or through instalments for bikes, battery operators and swap stations. Our clients that use Upya manage +3000 daily payments.
Track your assets at all times — particularly impactful for batteries as they continuously change ownership. You can track which Swap Stations has which battery and when every battery is linked to a customer.
Organize your analytics and data collection structure per region and/or swap station and/or sales manager.
Manage your boda-boda leads and presale carried out by your agents through our App and then convert them to contracts with PAYG schemes.
Create specific profiles for your agents, managers, operators and tone up or down their interface based on their needs. Making sure the solution, although comprehensive, maintains a simple user interface.
Gather proof of battery usage per driver and collect carbon credits, while being ready for any form of audits.
Collect any form of data at the point of sale while also assigning tasks and collecting tickets from your different stations.
Give limited access to the Upya Platform to investors so they can see for themselves your momentum and growth.
Manage your purchase of parts, from origin to assembly on the continent through Upya Commerce.
Integrate Upya to any super app used by drivers on a need’s basis or any piece of hardware (GPS Trackers for instance).
Our team continuously collaborates with our partners’ tech teams to integrate, add relevant features and sometimes even co-create.
What’s next?
There is no clear roadmap that gives a precise picture of where E-mobility will be in 2 or 5 years. Some argue that it resembles the early days of the SHS industry but there are notable differences.
One is rural, the other urban; PAYG sales are today mundane, sustainability is better understood, investor readiness is higher to meet the required investments as the unit economics are different.
Another notable difference is that e-mobility companies do not need to be vertically integrated. There are many more off-the-shelf solutions that can support part of their business with one key prerequisite: allowing flexibility for their given market.
We shared how today Upya answers many of the needs mentioned by most e-mobility players, and yet, our solution will need to continuously evolve and adapt with our partners as they modify their processes, distribution, and pivoting products.
We look forward to it. Reach out to Upya.io for a chat or to organise a free demonstration of our solution.
