In a landmark move to accelerate Africa’s transition to clean transportation, the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the impact investment arm of Afreximbank, has announced a $75 million equity investment in Spiro, the Continent’s leading electric mobility company.
The investment is poised to catalyze the growth of Africa’s electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem, with a focus on scalable battery-swapping infrastructure and regional manufacturing integration.
The investment aligns with Afreximbank’s broader automotive strategy aimed at developing integrated manufacturing ecosystems across Africa. By fostering strategic partnerships from technology providers to local industrial champions, the Bank seeks to stimulate intra-African trade, promote industrialisation, and reduce dependence on imported second-hand vehicles.
Dr. George Elombi, President of Afreximbank and Chairman of FEDA, emphasized the transformative potential of the partnership:
“With this partnership, the Bank is laying the groundwork for a new era of intra-African trade and industrialization… creating employment opportunities and reducing the Continent’s reliance on imported second-hand vehicles.”
Founded in 2022, Spiro has rapidly scaled its operations, deploying over 60,000 electric motorcycles and establishing 1,200 battery-swapping stations across key African markets. The company’s model is designed to reduce urban emissions, enhance energy efficiency, and expand affordable mobility access.
Gagan Gupta, Founder of Spiro, welcomed the investment: “We are proud to welcome FEDA as a strategic investor… As we expand our battery swapping infrastructure and integrate renewable energy sources, we are positioned to unlock substantial upside in Spiro’s energy distribution.
The investment comes at a time when pro-EV policies across Africa are creating fertile ground for clean mobility adoption. FEDA’s CEO, Marlene Ngoyi, highlighted Spiro’s commercial and social impact: “Spiro’s success to date is a clear demonstration of the strength and scalability of its business model… With its integrated approach, Spiro has built a platform that is both commercially viable and socially impactful.”
As Africa embraces the future of mobility, the FEDA–Spiro partnership marks a pivotal step toward building a sustainable, locally-driven EV industry. With strategic capital and policy tailwinds, Spiro is set to become a cornerstone of Africa’s clean transportation revolution.
About Afreximbank
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade. For over 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialisation and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa.
A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank has set up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA.
At the end of December 2024, Afreximbank’s total assets and contingencies stood at over US$40.1 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$7.2 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa2), China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd (CCXI) (AAA), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB-). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its equity impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
About FEDA
The Fund for Export Development in Africa (“FEDA”) is the impact investment subsidiary of Afreximbank (www.afreximbank.com), set up to provide equity, quasi-equity, and debt capital to finance the multi-billion-dollar funding gap (particularly in equity) needed to transform the Trade sector in Africa.
FEDA pursues a multi-sector investment strategy along the intra-African trade, value-added export development, and manufacturing value chain which includes financial services, technology, consumer and retail goods, manufacturing, transport & logistics, agribusiness, as well as ancillary trade enabling infrastructure such as industrial parks. To date, FEDA has invested more than US$1.3 billion in companies and projects across its various fund initiatives, in sectors such as manufacturing, agro-processing, financial services, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, amongst others.
About Spiro
Spiro is the largest electric mobility company in Africa, which operates the fastest growing battery swapping infrastructure in 6 countries in Africa. Spiro has a vision for transforming the African economies through substitution of expensive imported fossil fuel-based transportation into affordable, and accessible electric mobility solutions locally made in Africa, by Africans, for Africa & the world.
This far, Spiro has achieved over 800 billion kms of CO2 free travel, crossed 26 million battery swaps and operated over 1200 battery swapping stations with more than 60,000 electric motor bikes in circulation. Through its expanding regional production network and operational assembling facilities in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda, Spiro is committed to deliver affordable, locally manufactured electric mobility solutions at scale across Africa.
The post FEDA injects US$75m into Spiro to power Africa’s electric mobility revolution appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.
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