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Want to know one green firm in Africa? Make it this one

Spiro is so far the most successful provider of electric motorbikes on the continent. This is its story

October 01, 2026

Welcome to Green Rising – I find that the most exciting motorsport race in Africa is not held on a road or even in the bush. It’s happening in the boardrooms of electric motorcycle companies. Clearly the EV two-wheeler market has caught fire on the continent. But who will win? Whose bikes will millions of Africans ride in the future, thanks to an attractive mix of affordability, durability, and availability? The race is far from over. This will take years to play out. But the jockeying is heated, and the undoubted leader of the pack at the moment is Spiro. It launched in Rwanda in 2023, reports more than 135,000 deployed motorcycles and 2,500+ swap stations, and raised more than $560 million in disclosed funding.

Spiro hires more staff than the 24 next peers

Spiro, Africa’s largest electric motorcycle company, added over 300 senior staff in the 12 months to September 2026, more than the next 24 companies combined. Data from LinkedIn shows that the company has by far the largest workforce of any African EV company, with the only three digit senior staff increase during the period.

  • Mobility Rising analysed hiring trends across 25 major EV companies spanning electric mobility, charging and related sectors. The companies include Spiro, MAX, Gogo, Ampersand, Kiira, BasiGo, Roam, Dodai, eBee, Greenwheels, ARC Ride, MellowVans, Elsewedy Plug, Blu EV, Shift EV, Wahu Mobility, Kofa, Zeno, GridCars, Charge, SolarTaxi, Bako Motors, Zembo, EVRaid and Saglev. 

  • Greenwheels in Kenya and Kiira Motors in Uganda added 45 and 24 staff, the second and third highest staff increment respectively. In total, the 25 companies have over 3,000 staff listed on LinkedIn, with about a sixth being added in the last one year alone.

  • Our take: Hiring could increasingly split between EV manufacturers and energy providers over the next five years. … Read more (2 min)

Spiro, Africa’s largest electric motorcycle company, and China’s Yadea, the world’s largest electric two-wheeler manufacturer, have signed a landmark deal that will see the latter manufacture motorcycles specifically tailored to the market and road conditions in Africa. Spiro will then let them loose on its swap network across the continent.

  • Chinese companies dominate Africa’s electric two-wheeler market, supplying most of the bikes sold on the continent. Yadea alone is in over 20 African markets, the most of any global electric two-wheeler OEM. Other Chinese OEMs include TankVolt, Wylex, Vmoto and PowerGogo.  

  • Spiro has sold over 130,000 bikes in Africa, the most of any company. This is expected to rise further as the company plans to launch in Ghana, the DRC, Mali and Zimbabwe in the coming months, giving it bargaining power. 

  • Our take: Chinese OEMs are winning the manufacturing side but they will not capture the most value across the entire E2W ecosystem.… Read more (2 min)

Electric motorcycle company Spiro is planning to enter four new markets, the company told Mobility Rising. Spiro will launch in Ghana next month and in DRC before the end of the year. It is also planning to enter Mali and Zimbabwe, but the launch date is yet to be confirmed. In Ghana and the DRC, the company has been aggressively hiring staff ahead of market entry.

  • Spiro’s operations span Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, Cameroon, Benin and Togo. The entry into Ghana, the DRC, Zimbabwe and Mali will take its footprint to 11 countries, more than any other African electric motorcycle company.   

  • Most African electric motorcycle companies are focused on one or a few countries, with expansion slow due to the costs. Increased specialisation may unlock faster expansion of startups into new markets. 

  • Our take: Vertical integration could become a disadvantage as Africa’s electric motorcycle market matures… Read more (2 min)

Number of the week

….is the geothermal capacity that Kenya and China's Kaishan Group newly agreed to explore and develop. That would add 50% to Kenya’s current installed power capacity across all energy sources.

Network corner

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👉Food4Education founder Wawira Njiru wins 2026 German Africa Prize for her pioneering approach to reimagining school feeding as economic infrastructure.

Top green jobs from…

EVENTS UPDATE 

📆 Attend the Circularity Summit & E-Waste Festival in South Africa (October 12)

📆 Sign Up for the Women in Renewable Energy Conference in Kenya (October 21) 

📆 Join the Zimbabwe-Zambia Energy Projects Summit in Zambia (November 3)

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