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A Chinese investment fund has injected US$55 million into one of Africa’s largest electric mobility companies, boosting its latest fundraising round to US$270 million and signalling growing international confidence in the continent’s clean transport sector.
Spiro, which manufactures electric motorcycles and operates a battery-swapping network across seven African countries, announced that Shanghai- and Shenzhen-based NewTrails Capital had joined its list of investors as it seeks to accelerate expansion and localise manufacturing.
The latest investment increases the company’s funding round from the US$215 million announced earlier this month to a total of US$270 million, according to Tech.Africa.
Existing backers include Impact Fund Denmark, Equitane and the Fund for Export Development in Africa, the development finance arm of the African Export-Import Bank.
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The deal marks a significant endorsement of Africa’s emerging electric vehicle industry by Chinese investors and is expected to strengthen collaboration with Chinese suppliers as Spiro expands its manufacturing footprint on the continent.
“We believe Spiro is driving a profound energy revolution across mobility use cases in Africa,” said NewTrails Capital founding partner Yufan Zhang, citing the company’s localised operations, vertically integrated supply chain and strong business fundamentals.
Spiro’s business model allows riders to exchange depleted batteries for fully charged ones within minutes, eliminating lengthy charging times and reducing the upfront costs associated with battery ownership.
The service is aimed primarily at the motorcycle taxi sector, which provides transport for millions of people and businesses across African cities.
The company says it has deployed more than 100,000 electric vehicles and established over 2,500 battery-swapping stations, facilitating more than 30 million battery swaps to date.
Its operations span Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon, while manufacturing facilities are currently located in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
Founder of Spiro and chairman of Equitane, Gagan Gupta, said the company had moved beyond the proof-of-concept stage and was now focused on scaling its operations across Africa and into international markets.
The fresh capital is also expected to support efforts to localise battery production, a move that could strengthen links with Africa’s growing reserves of critical minerals such as copper and lithium, which are increasingly important in the global electric vehicle supply chain.
With demand for sustainable transport solutions rising across the continent, the latest funding gives Spiro additional resources to expand its network and consolidate its position in Africa’s fast-growing electric mobility market.
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