Electric two- and three-wheelers already work for many African riders.
The next step is creating market conditions that works at scale.
ASEM (Accelerating Sustainable Electric Mobility in Africa) works with investors, operators, manufacturers, energy companies and governments on the shared problems no single company can solve alone: Unlocking scale for African electric two- and three-wheeler markets
A market with proof points, but not yet at scale
In several markets, electric motorbikes already cost commercial riders less to run than petrol bikes. Where electric motorcycles are used hardest, the economics already work. Commercial riders on battery-swap networks spend a fraction of what petrol costs them.
Yet there are only about 160,000 electric two-wheelers deployed, against an estimated 27 million motorcycles in sub-Saharan Africa.
Structure, not technology, limits growth: how assets are financed, whether networks connect, how risk is shared and how policy is set. These sit between companies, so none can solve them alone. ASEM works on that layer.
Electric mobility. At scale.
A large market, with value for riders, businesses and economies
Two- and three-wheelers are the working vehicles of African cities. They move ride-hailing and taxi passengers, deliveries, small-scale logistics and daily commuters. Many commercial riders cover 100 km or more a day, so energy and maintenance costs decide what they take home.
Improve livelihoods
For a commercial rider, fuel is the largest daily cost. Rider data gathered in Nairobi for ASEM suggests that energy spend on a battery-swap network can be a third to a quarter of the petrol equivalent. How much of that saving the rider keeps depends on mileage, energy prices and the terms of vehicle finance.
Strengthen businesses
Fleet owners, delivery companies and asset financiers gain lower running costs and more predictable maintenance. Where a network serves several vehicle brands, the same infrastructure supports far more vehicles and pays back sooner.
Support economic growth
About USD 3.5 to 4.0 billion has gone into Africa's e-mobility sector over the past five years, across about 180 deals. Electric two and three-wheeler companies drew close to 70% of that, and 2026 alone has already exceeded 2024 and 2025 combined. Assembly, battery services, station operation and rider finance are creating skilled local jobs and new businesses.
Cleaner air and lower emissions
Replacing petrol engines on high-mileage vehicles cuts air pollution in the busiest corridors and reduces transport emissions, with the largest gains where grids draw on renewable power.
Why ASEM exists
ASEM was formed in 2026 by the Carbon Trust, MobilityX Africa and Hystra. It identifies the structural barriers holding the sector back and designs the ecosystem-level interventions that can remove them.
ASEM is company-agnostic and has no commercial interest in any operator, technology or business model. Its role is to build a shared evidence base, bring the right actors to the same table and test which interventions work in which markets.
Different markets, different pathways
Regulation-led markets (for example Rwanda, Ethiopia)
Governments can shape market structure early. Standards, certification and coordinated infrastructure matter most.
Advanced, market-driven markets (for example Kenya, Uganda)
Operators have built the assets needed for scale. The priority is to make those assets more open, financeable and compatible.
Large but unstructured markets (for example Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire)
Entry models, distribution, financing and basic power supply matter most. Lighter, forecourt-based and multi-brand models may fit better than capital-heavy networks.
Stable ecosystems with few EVs so far (for example South Africa, North Africa)
Vehicle supply, financing and charging lead. These markets can test more mature infrastructure and finance models.
What is holding the market back?
Policy, rider demand, vehicle supply, energy infrastructure, capital and data depend on each other. Today they hold each other back. Progress on one can pull the others forward.
Fragmented infrastructure
Most swap and charging networks are proprietary. Operators build parallel stations in the same corridors, each serving only its own riders. Stations stay under-used, capital is duplicated, and riders cannot switch networks if their operator fails or service drops. Manufacturers hesitate to enter a market where their partner's network could be overtaken. Where networks have opened to several brands, the same capital has served several times more vehicles.
Financing misfits
Equity often funds everything at once: vehicles, batteries, stations and consumer loans. Funding an operator on its own balance sheet can take about USD 1,500 to 1,800 of equity per vehicle. Lenders wait for profitability, but companies need scale to reach it. Further down the chain, high borrowing costs for asset financiers can erase the running-cost savings an electric vehicle offers the rider.
Valuation and exit uncertainty
Few completed transactions, uncertain battery life and limited data on asset performance make companies and infrastructure hard to value. Growth investors are holding back on valuations and unclear exits. Mergers and acquisitions look like the nearest exit route, but no mechanism yet exists to support them.
Policy uncertainty
Some governments have moved early, with measures such as restrictions on new petrol commercial motorcycles or preferential electricity tariffs for charging. Elsewhere, changing import duties, unclear rules on electricity resale and standards set before they are technically defined raise the risk premium investors apply. Many regulators also lack the capacity to certify batteries, connectors and safety.
Thin and inconsistent data
Fleet sizes, station use, battery life and rider economics are mostly self-reported and hard to compare. Investors cannot price risk, manufacturers cannot size demand and policymakers cannot design targets on accurate counts.
What makes ASEM different
Other programmes help governments develop e-mobility policy and pilots, or fund local campaigns for electric vehicles. ASEM complements that work by focusing on how the market itself is built: how assets are financed, whether networks connect, and how riders and investors are protected if an operator fails.
We work directly with the investors, operators, manufacturers and fuel retailers who make those decisions, and only on electric two- and three-wheelers in Africa.
How ASEM works: Bringing the ecosystem together
We are speaking with investors, lenders, policymakers, manufacturers, operators, fuel retailers and energy companies. If you finance assets, run a network, hold market data or set policy in this sector.
Each group controls part of the problem. ASEM works with each one on its part, and on the links between them.
Investors and lenders
Matching the right capital to each layer of the market: vehicles, batteries, stations and rider finance. Exploring risk-sharing, asset-level financing and clearer routes to exit.
Policymakers and regulators
Sharing evidence on what has worked in different markets, and supporting practical, technically sound standards and incentives that give investors predictability.
Manufacturers and operators
Bringing operating data and field experience into the evidence base, and testing partnership models such as multi-brand networks and shared sites.
Infrastructure and energy providers
Exploring how fuel retailers, utilities and site owners can host shared swapping and charging, and which commercial terms make that work for everyone on site.
Our approach: Listen, analyse, coordinate, scale
Phase 1 (2026): Listen and analyse
Interviews and convenings with investors, operators, manufacturers, energy companies and policymakers, plus analysis of fleet, rider and investment data. Phase 1 ends with a public white paper and a short list of interventions and pilot markets.
Phase 2 (from 2027): Coordinate and scale
Working with sponsors and market players to design, fund and test a small number of shared interventions in selected markets. These could include:
- common data and battery performance metrics that lenders can rely on
- business-continuity arrangements, so that riders and assets keep running if an operator fails
- financing that lets lenders back vehicles, batteries and rider loans directly
- partnerships that bring new manufacturers and energy companies into African markets.
Sharing what we learn
ASEM will publish an industry white paper at the end of 2026. It will set out the structural barriers facing the sector, the pathways that can address them in each type of market, and what investors, policymakers, manufacturers, operators and energy companies can each do next.
The paper draws on ASEM's interviews, convenings and data analysis, including findings from the Addis Ababa sessions and the London investor roundtable.
Consortium partners:
Fragmented infrastructure
Leads policy and regulatory engagement and standards work, and leads the white paper.
Fragmented infrastructure
Coordinates the programme and leads convening, including engagement with fuel retailers and capital allocators.
Fragmented infrastructure
Provides market intelligence on African e-mobility, tracking more than 220 companies, and leads investment analysis and engagement with operators and manufacturers.
© 2026 ASEM: The Carbon Trust, Hystra and MobilityX Africa.
