BasiGo secures Ksh.5.4B funding to scale electric bus supply in East Africa

Kenyan Electric Vehicle (EV) start-up BasiGo has announced that it has closed a $42 million (Ksh.5.4 billion) funding round.

BasiGo was founded in 2021 by Jit Bhattacharya (CEO) and Jonathan Green (CFO) and provides electric buses for public transport use in Kenya and Rwanda under a pay-as-you-drive model.

The new investment consists of $24 million in Series A equity funding along with $17.5 million in debt facilities from British International Investment (BII) and the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

Africa50 led the equity funding round, which also saw the participation of Novastar Ventures, CFAO Kenya, Mobility54, SBI Investment, Trucks VC, Moxxie Ventures, and Susquehanna Foundation.

BasiGo, which launched its first electric bus in Kenya in 2022, said the new investment will go towards its goal of delivering 1,000 electric buses in East Africa by the end of 2025.

Specifically, BasiGo said it seeks to increase manufacturing capacity at its assembly line at Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers. 

It will also support the expansion of BasiGo’s pay-as-you-drive offering to new vehicle types, and to improve the company's technology platforms like its Jani booking app.

“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,” Bhattacharya said.

The company said the Series A equity round unlocks a $10 million debt facility from DFC for BasiGo Kenya, as well as a new $7.5 million debt facility from BII specifically for scaling its Rwanda operations.

BasiGo entered Rwanda last December and says it currently operates six pilot electric buses in the capital Kigali and nearby towns.

The company says it has already received over 300 reservations from bus operators.

BasiGo’s new funding follows the $3 million (about Ksh.388 million at current exchange rates) investment the start-up received from Toyota’s parent company CFAO in March.

Last December, the company received $5 million (about Ksh.646 million currently) from BII.