The company that pioneered electric taxis in Kenya is closing shop

News & Politics
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EkoRent Africa, the Finnish owner of the startup that pioneered an electric taxi-hailing service called NopeaRide, is winding up its operations in Kenya after four years.
In a press statement, NopeaRide, which means ‘fast ride’ in Finnish, said that it will be closing down for good. The company expressed its “deepest sympathies to our dedicated team of staff and drivers,” after covid ravaged its operations and funding shortfalls hijacked its expansion plans.

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In 2021, NopeaRide announced that it would increase the number of cars in its fleet from 30 to 100 as part of a growth strategy. But by the time it closed shop on Nov. 28, it had only 70 electric cars. A funding round that NopeaRide hoped would help it bounce back to pre-covid profitability levels failed to materialize.
“Many of the additional vehicles arrived in Nairobi just about the same time when the strict covid-19 curfew rules were put in place in March 2020,” the company’s statement said. “Those rules led to daily kilometers driven by Nopea vehicles dropping approximately 60% overnight.”

[SIZE=6]Why NopeaRide failed in Kenya[/SIZE]

Starting off in August 2018 with three EVs and two charging stations in Nairobi, NopeaRide created a network of charging stations, imported dozens of electric cars, and by June this year, had driven more than 4 million kilometers, helping Nairobi cut over 650 tons of carbon emissions, according to company data.
Over the years, NopeaRide has receiving several rounds of funding, but the money has not proven sufficient to run a sustainable business. PIDG Technical Assistance provided $80,000 in 2020 to support the startup’s first solar-powered charging hub in Nairobi, and an additional $80,000 grant to support long-term growth. One investment came from a €200,000 ($206,000) financing round led by EEP Africa for piloting solar EV charging stations in Kenya, which would allow EkoRent Africa to determine how to scale across the rest of east Africa. NopeaRide was also one of the beneficiaries of the UK’s clean energy investment plan through its partner InfraCo Africa, which signed an agreement with EkoRent Africa to offer $1.2 million in financing for NopeaRide.

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Battery leasing companies zinakuja kuwashika ile design M7 hushika Besigye huko Kampala.

Electric vehicles ni kama mahindi ya GMO

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Their exit… Another person’s opportunity

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What is battery leasing?

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Ni method moja ya kurefuel electric cars haraka.

Recharging an EV car fully takes hours so to avoid that some companies will be leasing batteries or RENTING batteries, swapping batteries takes minutes.

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nini ingine huendelea kwa io biashara? si ni battery tu inabadikwa kwa gari ukimaliza trip tatu unarudisha, unalipa, unapewa ingine iko 100%? io biashara inarevolve around izo batteries, hakuna kitu ingine

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Kama mtungi ya gas

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Mgas inafaa iingie kwa hiyo biashara tunaweka token kama ile ya nyumba.

Hii gas ya peasants unaweka fifty unapika ugali sukumawiki na nyama.

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Kuna level hatujafika as a country. EVs are too futuristic for Kenya. We still have these ones zooming around good as new.[ATTACH=full]482098[/ATTACH]You can’t possibly convince the owner of that TX about battery swap technology. And those are the people with money to buy business vehicles.

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EV will not take root until another 60 years when all petroleum fuel becomes exhausted