BasiGo secures $42m funding to scale up electric buses

Electric buses manufacturer BasiGo has secured $42 million in new capital to scale up public transport electrification in Sub Saharan Africa.

The funding round consists of $24 million in Series A equity funding from pan-African infrastructure investor and asset manager Africa50.

The equity round features co-investments from Novastar Ventures, CFAO Kenya, Mobility54, SBI Investment, Trucks VC, Moxxie Ventures, and Susquehanna Foundation.

The fresh capital includes $10 million debt facility from the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for BasiGo Kenya, as well as $7.5 million debt facility from British International Investment (BII) specifically designed for scaling BasiGo’s e-bus deployment in Rwanda.

“The combined equity and debt investment into BasiGo validates our business model and enables BasiGo to focus on scale and profitability. With BII’s support to expand our E-bus model in Rwanda, we are ready to deliver hundreds of modern, emissions-free electric buses across East Africa,” said BasiGo CEO Jit Bhattacharya.

The capital raised by BasiGo will be put towards the company’s core objective of delivering 1,000 electric buses in East Africa within the next 3 years, said the company in a press statement.

In Kenya, the funds will specifically be used to increase manufacturing capacity at BasiGo’s dedicated e-bus assembly line located at Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers (KVM), it added.  

The investment will also support the expansion of BasiGo’s Pay-As-You-Drive offering to new vehicle types, and to improve BasiGo’s technology platforms such as Jani which make electric buses more accessible and convenient for passengers.

“We are delighted to conclude Africa50’s first investment in the e-mobility space to support the greening of the public transport sector in Kenya and Rwanda. We believe BasiGo is well positioned to scale in East Africa and beyond given its world class engineering and operations teams, strong value proposition to transport operators and the caliber of strategic and financial partners assembled by the founders,” said Raza Hasnani, Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure Investments at Africa50.

In December 2023, BasiGo expanded its operations to Rwanda where it is currently operating 6 pilot electric buses on routes inside Kigali as well as inter-city routes serving nearby towns.

The newest debt facility from BII will be put towards launching commercial deliveries of e-buses in Rwanda, where BasiGo has already received over 300 reservations from bus operators.

The total capital raised by BasiGo represents one of the most significant investments into electric mobility in Africa.

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