BasiGo raises $42M to deliver electric buses in East Africa. The funding round includes $24 million in Series A equity funding and $17.5 million in debt facilities from British International Investment (BII) and the United States Development Finance Corporation to deliver 1,000 electric buses in 3 years.
Africa50, a pan-African infrastructure investor and asset manager, led the equity funding round with participation from Novastar Ventures, CFAO Kenya, Mobility54, SBI Investment, Trucks VC, Moxxie Ventures, and Susquehanna Foundation.
The Series A equity round unlocks a $10 million debt facility from DFC for BasiGo Kenya, as well as a new $7.5 million debt facility from BII specifically designed for scaling BasiGo’s E-bus deployment in Rwanda, including the launch of commercial deliveries of E-Buses, where BasiGo has already received over 300 reservations from bus operators after launching in the country in 2023.
The company will put the new funding towards delivering 1,000 electric buses in East Africa within the next 3 years. It will use the funds to increase manufacturing capacity at BasiGo’s dedicated E-Bus assembly line located at Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers.
Other things the funding will be used for
It will also support the expansion of BasiGo’s Pay-As-You-Drive offering to new vehicle types and improve BasiGo’s technology platforms, such as Jani, which make electric buses more accessible and convenient for passengers.
Jit Bhattacharya, CEO of BasiGo, stated that the combined equity and debt investment into BasiGo validates the business model of the company, enabling it to focus on scale and profitability. He added that with BII support, the company is planning to deploy hundreds of electric buses across East Africa, including Rwanda.
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Over the past year, BasiGo has been involved in multiple funding rounds, including raising $5 million for electric bus assembly, securing $3 million to boost bus production in East Africa, and receiving $225,000 to improve its charging infrastructure.
Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers’ electric bus production line in Thika was launched in April 2024, making it the country’s first specialised assembly line for modern electric buses.
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