Bolt Pushes Green Mobility in Kenya with 5,000 Electric Motorbikes

In April 2024, Bolt unveiled plans to roll out 5,000 electric motorcycles in Kenya over the next three years. Bolt is leveraging M-Kopa’s fintech platform to enable someone to easily apply for a lease for a new electric motorbike which can act as a two-wheel taxi. To sweeten the deal, Bolt claims the cost of the electric motorbikes is up to 40% cheaper than an equivalent one running on petrol, not to mention the lower maintenance costs and environmental benefits.

Caroline Wanjihia, the Regional Director for Africa at Bolt, states that the offer emanates from market survey that revealed the high up-front cost (inital down payment) is a barrier to the adoption of electric vehicles. Therefore, Bolt has created a 24-month lease-to-own package with daily or weekly instalments to facilitate access to #eMobility.

Initially, Bolt will also subsidize up to 20% of the cost of the electric motorbike, depending on the model. Bolt estimates that electric bikes have up to 75% lower operating costs compared to thermal bikes thanks to cheaper energy source and lower maintenance needs.

In addition, the offer from Bolt coincides with the recent launch of Kenya’ National eMobility Policy which aims to foster local production of Electric Vehicles (EV). In that regard, Bolt is partnering with local companies Roam and Ampersand to drive the push towards #GreenMobility. According to some estimates, the sales of electric motorbikes in Kenya is set to rise to 50% of the fleet by 2030.