Summary
- BasiGo secures $42 Million in funding made up of $24 million in Series A Equity Funding and $17.5 debt facilities.
- Funding will be used to scale BasiGo’s manufacturing capacity.
- BasiGo plans to deliver 1,000 electric buses in East Africa in the next 3 years.
BasiGo has announced the close of a $42 million funding round. This round consists of $24 million Series A Equity funding and $17.5 debt facilities from British International Investment (BII) and the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC). The debt facility consists of $10 million from DFC for BasiGo Kenya and $7.5 from BII to help BasiGo scale its E-bus deployment in Rwanda.
The latest debt facility from BII will be put towards launching commercial deliveries of E-Buses in Rwanda, where BasiGo has already received over 300 reservations from bus operators.
Seema Dhanani, Head of Office, Kenya and Coverage Director, East Africa at BII, said: “We are delighted to support BasiGo as it expands into Rwanda. This marks a significant step in electrifying the local public transport sector, reducing pollution, and combating climate change impacts. This is in line with our priority of supporting e-mobility to foster sustainable economic growth.”
The Series A round was led by Africa50 with co-investments from Novastar Ventures, CFAO Kenya, Mobility54, SBI Investment, Trucks VC, Moxxie Ventures, and Susquehanna Foundation.
1,000 Electric Buses in 3 Years
BasiGo says the capital injection will be used to accelerate its plan to deliver 1,000 electric buses in East Africa in the next 3 years. At the moment, BasiGo can only deliver a handful of electric buses each month. The company plans to use the investment to scale its manufacturing capacity within the coming years.
Part of the investment will also be used to expand its Pay-As-You-Drive program to new vehicle types and to improve BasiGo’s technology platforms such as Jani. Jani makes electric buses more accessible and convenient for passengers.
Commenting on this, Jit Bhattacharya, CEO of BasiGo said, “Since we founded BasiGo in 2021, our mission has been to create the future of clean, electric public transport in Africa. We are thrilled to have Africa50, a premier African infrastructure investment fund, recognize the potential of our mission. The combined equity and debt investment into BasiGo validates our business model and enables BasiGo to focus on scale and profitability. With BII’s support to expand our E-bus model in Rwanda, we are ready to deliver hundreds of modern, emissions-free electric buses across East Africa.”
The funding validates BasiGo’s business model and supports its expansion efforts, focusing on sustainable public transport and reducing emissions in Africa.
“As the largest investment to date by an African fund in an e-mobility company, we are proud to support innovation that drives green growth and development in the region,” said Raza Hasnani, Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure Investments at Africa50.
Steve Beck, Managing Partner at Novastar Ventures commented, “As an early investor in BasiGo, we are immensely proud of the team’s continued progress towards transforming the public bus transport sector in Africa – delivering improved experience for commuters and substantial environmental benefits. This latest funding round is a testament to the strong investor confidence in BasiGo’s business model, value proposition and customer demand as it expands its operations and leads the way in sustainable transportation in Africa.”
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