The growing e-mobility sector in the region may gain a new entrant early next year after Zeno, a startup created by ex-Tesla employee Michael Spencer, received seed funding worth US$9.5 million from investors.
Spencer established Zeno in 2022 but initially decided to dedicate its energies in exploring how swappable batteries can help transform lives across East Africa. The seed round was led by Lowercarbon Capital and Toyota Ventures, alongside other investors such as 4DX Ventures, Active Impact, Advantedge, MCJ, and RedBlue. Zeno wants to join the fray of electric motorbike manufacturers in East Africa, a region whose cities’ transport sectors heavily rely on fossil-fuel bodabodas, accounting for immense portions of air pollution and carbon emissions.
Zeno tested 40 Chinese-made models of electric motorbikes to determine how efficient they were but discovered they were not tailored for the region’s rough roads and terrain. Moreover, Zeno also discovered that batteries served an array of needs for the East African population, including powering shops during blackouts, and this useful bit had to be considered to create holistic solutions.
Zeno plans to design a new kind of electric motorbike that is more durable and heavier, and hence will require a more powerful battery. Most of the models in the market are relatively light and unable to serve more than one pillion passenger or extra cargo.
The startup not only wants to ensure their swappable batteries will sustain longer ranges when used in the bike, but also provide extra capacity to serve alternative needs of its users. During their stealth phase over the past two years, Zeno was experimenting how their swappable batteries could run other home appliances.
“If you don’t have grid connectivity, you can bring your batteries home from a swap station, and you can use them to power your home. If you want to put solar on your house, that home docking station works as a solar inverter to charge those batteries,” Michael Spencer told TechCrunch.
Zeno plans to produce cheaper electric motorbikes that customers can lease or buy. The startup’s interest in the market is also prompted by the relatively warm reception e-vehicles have gotten in East Africa – with Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Kenya leading the pack.
Zeno’s entry will not be an easy affair because the market has no shortage of viable competitors. BasiGo has entrenched itself over the year in the assembly of electric buses which have been popular in Nairobi and Kigali. Spiro, Ampersand, and Roam are also ramping up their production capacity and adding value to their batteries.