How IT leaders use EV tech to fuel the transport revolution in Kenya

Uptake
in
EVs
is
quietly
accelerating
across
Africa’s
transport
systems.
During
the
last
year
alone,
for
instance,
companies
such
as
BasiGo
and
Roam
in
Kenya
have
launched
in
various
cities.
And
a
Brookings

report
titled,

Accelerating
adoption
of
electric
vehicles
for
sustainable
transport
in
Nairobi,
called
on
local
and
national
governments
to
promote
investment
in
key
infrastructure
to
support
public
charging
and
servicing
points;
enhance
the
reliability
of
supply
and
distribution
of
electricity
through
last-mile
power
connectivity;
increase
financing
for
local
electric
mobility
startups;
and
provide
policy
and
tax
incentives
to
realize
a
boom
in
electrical
transportation.

But
EV
uptake
is
still
in
its
infancy
as
its
percentage
among
total
numbers
of
new
car
sales,
for
example,
barely
register.
In
Kenya
specifically,
there
are
estimations
of
only
350
EVs
of
the
country’s
2.2
million
registered
automobiles.
South
Africa
had
EV
sales
of
502
units
in
2022,
while
Tanzania
is
reportedly
leading
the
pack
with
5,000
EVs
in
total.

Being
in
the
early
years
of
electric
transportation
in
the
continent,
IT
leaders
are
still
working
through
the
rudimentary
challenges
of
inadequate
infrastructure
to
charge
EVs.

“The
greatest
technical
challenge
is
the
deployment
of
charging
infrastructure
in
a
way
that
makes
electric
buses
as
convenient
for
operators
to
use
as
current
diesel
buses,”
says
Jit
Bhattacharya,
CEO
and
CTO
of
BasiGo
(pictured).

BasiGo
has
15
electric
buses
operating
on
four
additional
routes
in
Nairobi.
This
is
after
it
launched
in
March
2022,
with
two
electric
buses.
According
to
Bhattacharya,
the
two
buses
have
now
driven
approximately
200,000km,
completing
over
260,000
passenger
journeys.

“Charging
infrastructure
needs
to
be
located
along
operator
routes,
adjacent
to
reliable,
high-voltage
power
lines,
and
with
adequate
space
for
bus
parking,”
he
says.
“Finding
the
locations
and
developing
charging
sites
is
one
of
the
most
critical
aspects
of
our
business
and
one
of
the
key
technical
challenges
to
making
e-buses
work
in
the
market.”

About Author

AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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