Opibus, Sub-Saharan Africa’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer, announced that it has raised $7.5 million in funding led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm At One Ventures, with additional participation from Factor Ventures and Ambo Ventures, of which are managed by former Google and Uber executives.
Opibus, which now has customers in six African nations, is the leading provider of locally designed and manufactured electric vehicles. Its mission is to develop high-quality, cost-effective products for the pan-African mass market. Opibus has decreased customer CO2 emissions by 94% and operational costs by more than 60% through the deployment of multiple vehicle types.
The closed fundraising totals $7.5 million, with $5 million in stock and $2.5 million in supplementary grants. The expenditures will be utilized to prepare for scale-up and mass manufacture, which are scheduled to begin in 2022. Africa’s transportation market is one of the fastest-growing in the world, with a total market potential of $10 billion by 2030, and is mainly unexplored.
Opibus was started in 2017 and has since grown to produce goods in three distinct segments: electric motorbikes, electric public transportation/commercial vehicles, and charging and energy solutions. The emphasis is on developing a sustainable ecosystem for African mass transportation.
“We are honored to be funded by globally renowned investors who bring a mix of deep-tech and emerging market expertise to the table. We have reached a clear strategic and visionary alignment around the conviction that mass manufacturing of electric mobility solutions in Africa will not only increase access and affordability but will also result in one of the region’s largest industrialization and welfare transitions in modern history,” said Filip Gardler, CEO and co-founder of Opibus. “While the ambitions and objectives we’ve set for Opibus may appear audacious, the task has never been more critical. We owe a duty to future generations and the planet as a whole.”
The investment is the largest ever made in a Sub-Saharan African electric mobility company and will be used to expand the company’s activities in electric motorcycle and bus manufacture.
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