---
title: "Uber rolls out electric bike fleet in Kenya, its first in Africa"
description: "NAIROBI, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Ride-hailing firm Uber UBER.N on Thursday launched an electric motorbike service in Kenya, its first in Africa, as the company seeks to make its global platform emissions free by 2040."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Electric motorbike"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-08-31-uber-rolls-out-electric-bike-fleet-in-kenya-its-first-in-africa/"
published: "2023-08-31T13:46:15"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 253
---

# Uber rolls out electric bike fleet in Kenya, its first in Africa

> NAIROBI, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Ride-hailing firm Uber UBER.N on Thursday launched an electric motorbike service in Kenya, its first in Africa, as the company seeks to make its global platform emissions free by 2040.

By Reuters · Published 31 August 2023, 15:46 SAST

## Key points
- Uber is bringing its Electric Boda product to Kenya, helping to reduce operating costs for drivers and providing users with a cheaper ride while contributing to the country's shift towards green transport.
- Uber launches electric motorbike service in Kenya
- Drivers to experience 30-35% drop in operating costs
- Battery-swapping stations set up to save drivers time
- Kenyan President wants 200,000 electric motorbikes on the road by 2024

## Content

The rollout in Kenya will be followed later this year in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa, said Kagiso Khaole, Uber's general manager for sub-Saharan Africa.

Uber's new green product in Kenya, dubbed Electric Boda in a nod to the Swahili term for motorbike taxis, will comprise 3,000 bikes within six months, or just under a fifth of its fleet.

Drivers will see a 30-35% drop in their operating costs, and users of the platform will pay 15-20% less than they do for a regular Uber motorbike trip, the company said.

"You will experience lower vibrations, less sound," Khaole said.

In Kenya, which generates more than 90% of its power from renewable sources and has been positioning itself as a hub to lead Africa's shift to green transport, Uber previously carried out small pilots for electric bikes with external partners.

The growth of the electric vehicles market in Africa has been slowed by a lack of adequate electric charging infrastructure and associated equipment.

Sensing an opportunity, local firms have been setting up [battery-swapping](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N324636&linkedFromStory=true) stations in major cities like Nairobi to save drivers time.

Kenya's President William Ruto said last month that he wanted to see the number of electric motorbikes on the road increase from the current 2,000 to more than 200,000 by the end of 2024.

Motorbike transport is a big employer in Kenya, absorbing millions of people who are unable to secure formal jobs.

By Duncan Miriri

(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Aaron Ross and Alex Richardson)