Roam, formerly known as Opibus, has raised US$24 million in debt and equity capital to drive its expansion across Africa.
Equator Africa led the US$14 million Series A equity capital round, which was joined by At One Ventures, TES Ventures, Renew Capital, The World We Want, and One Small Planet, among other important private and institutional investors. Furthermore, Roam has received a debt commitment of US$10 million from the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) of the US government.
Roam, which was rebranded earlier this year after being founded in 2017, is the top supplier of locally designed and produced electric vehicles. The company’s mission is to develop dependable, cost-effective products for the mass market across Africa.
Roam’s product lines include the Roam Air (electric motorcycle), Roam Rapid (electric mass transit bus), and Roam Move (electric urban transit bus), as well as energy and public charging solutions.
The company has achieved a noteworthy milestone in its dedication to inventive electric transport solutions: to date, it has successfully captured or mitigated over 120,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.
“As Africa embraces the move toward electric vehicle technology, we are proud of our impact on the environment and livelihoods across Kenya and the wider continent. This funding is a critical step for Roam to achieve our strategic objectives in scaling up and increasing utility to our customers,” said Rajal Upadhyaya, CFO of Roam.
The additional funds raised in this round will be used to strengthen Kenyan manufacturing capacity, increase output at the recently constructed 10,000 square metre Roam Park facility, finance cost-saving research and development, and streamline national and international supply chains.
Read more on Tech Gist Africa:
Apollo Agriculture, a Kenyan agri-fintech startup, has raised $10 million in funding
Shemba Pride, an agritech startup based in Kenya, has raised $3.7 million in pre-Series A funding
Tappi, a Kenyan startup, raises $1.5 million in pre-seed funding
