Local asset finance solutions provider Watu Credit has welcomed the publishing of a draft National Electric Mobility Policy, with a commitment to finance the acquisition of more than500,000 Electric Motorbikes in the next seven years.
Following the release of the draft e-Mobility Policy by a task force earlier appointed by Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, Watu Credit has confirmed its corporate plans to invest more than KShs 1.3 billion in accelerating efforts to transition from financing fossil-powered motorbikes to electric bikes progressively.
Murkomen said the policy will guide the development of electric mobility in all transportation modes—roads, rail, air, and maritime—and will provide a transition framework from the internal combustion engine currently in use.
“To achieve this, we are partnering with the private sector, international investors, and academic institutions to build the necessary infrastructure,” Murkomen said.
The Cabinet Secretary added: “To promote faster adoption of EVs, we have begun the process of assigning green-coloured number plates to all-electric vehicles, including two-wheelers. Special plates will help raise awareness about EVs among the general public and encourage more people to consider switching to e-mobility. We are also setting up charging infrastructure at our Ministry headquarters.”
With the release of the national e-mobility policy, Watu Credit Country Manager Mr Erick Massawe said the firm would support the national electric vehicles transition agenda by actively bridging the financing gap, which has been identified as a critical barrier to the acquisition of Electric Vehicles, including two—and three-wheel motorbikes.
He added that the firm is collaborating with several manufacturing partners, such as Arc Ride and GOGO Electric, to deliver bikes made for local conditions and will also develop a nationwide network of electric bike battery swapping stations.
“At Watu, we are committing to invest more than Kshs 1.3 billion by 2030 to finance the acquisition of thousands of electric-powered motorbikes in Kenya through our hire purchase option. For this to happen, we are working closely with several Manufacturers to deliver tropicalised units that can meet the local road and related operating conditions,” Mr Massawe said.
Details contained in the 2024 Budget Policy Statement (BPS) confirm that the Government, under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), identifies the adoption of electric mobility as apriority intervention to achieve the win-win outcomes of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, providing cheaper transport and leveraging our large local and regional motorcycle market to build an electric and battery electric vehicle industry.
The Government has adopted e-mobility as a high-priority intervention to address the challenges of pollution, adverse health effects, and fuel costs, which raise operational and health costs across the board.
