Pay As
You Drive

Electric vehicles have a problem in Africa: they cost too much upfront. A new electric motorcycle might save a rider money over time compared to petrol, but the initial purchase price is often two to three times what they could afford.

Traditional bank financing isn't an option for most boda-boda riders. They lack credit histories, formal employment records, or collateral. The informal economy that employs most African workers is invisible to conventional lenders.

“Our riders don't have bank accounts. But they all have M-Pesa. That's where we meet them.”

The model is elegantly simple. A rider puts down a small deposit—often just 10-20% of the vehicle cost. The motorcycle is equipped with IoT hardware that tracks location, usage, and enables remote locking.

Every day, the rider makes a mobile money payment—typically the equivalent of $2-4. The motorcycle stays unlocked and operational. Miss a payment, and the bike locks until the balance is cleared.

After 18-24 months of consistent payments, the rider owns the motorcycle outright. More importantly, they've built a credit history that traditional financial institutions can recognize.

The financing innovation extends beyond motorcycles. BasiGo in Kenya has pioneered a full-service leasing model for electric buses, removing nearly all operational complexity from transit operators.

Under their model, bus operators pay a fixed per-kilometer rate that includes the vehicle lease, charging, maintenance, and even driver training. There's no large capital outlay, no charging infrastructure to build, no new maintenance capabilities to develop.

This Mobility-as-a-Service approach has enabled BasiGo to deploy over 15 electric buses in Nairobi, with plans for significant expansion. For transit operators used to the unpredictability of fuel costs and maintenance expenses, the fixed-cost model is transformative.