BasiGo, a Nairobi-based e-mobility start-up led by Nairobi-based entrepreneur Jit Bhattacharya, has partnered with KCB Group, one of East Africa’s leading financial services groups, to launch a financing scheme that will allow Kenyans to access financing options to purchase electric public service vehicles.
KCB Bank customers will benefit from funding of up to 90 percent for a period of 36 months under the terms of the strategic partnership, which is aimed at supporting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and improving the response to climate change through adaptation and mitigation measures.
The news comes as NCBA Group, another Kenyan financial services provider linked to Kenya’s late first Prime Minister and President Jomo Kenyatta’s family, launches a Ksh2-billion ($16.8 million) electric vehicle financing scheme as demand for battery-powered cars rises amid a shift in consumer preferences.
Customers will have access to embedded tracking and fleet management devices that will be pre-installed on the electric buses, as well as insurance financing for their vehicles and other perks like servicing, charging, and maintenance of the batteries by BasiGo, according to the agreement.
Bhattacharya, CEO and co-founder of BasiGo, stated during the signing of the agreement that the agreement with KCB is game-changing, as it will drive the adoption of electric buses in the country as part of the effort to reduce reliance on diesel and gasoline.
“This deal will allow bus owners to secure asset financing for an electric bus exactly in line with how they have been purchasing diesel buses,” Bhattacharya said. “With KCB’s pioneering support for this technology and BasiGo’s Pay-As-You-Drive financing, we have made electric buses more affordable and more convenient to purchase and operate than diesel buses.”
Bhattacharya and his friend Jonathan Green established BasiGo in 2021 with the aim to revolutionize Kenya’s public transportation sector by providing bus owners with a cost-effective electric alternative to diesel, thus making East Africa a global leader in clean, affordable electric bus transit.
To support its expansion plans in the Kenyan market and the East African region, it recently raised $4.3 million in a seed funding round led by Novastar Ventures, a global VC manager with active operations in Lagos, London, and Nairobi.
