The clamor for environmentally friendly vehicles is powering an increase in investment in technology that would help reduce carbon footprint. Among areas of interest is automobiles. With Africa falling far behind other regions in the race to eliminate combustible vehicles, investors are seeing an opportunity to put their money in electric vehicle startups in the continent.

Opibus, Sub-Saharan Africa’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer, has raised $7.5 million in equity and grant funding led by Silicon Valley fund At One Ventures, further supported by Factor[e] Ventures and Ambo Ventures managed by former Google and Uber executives.

The investment is the largest ever in an electric mobility company in Sub-Saharan Africa and is aimed to scale its operations in electric motorcycle and bus manufacturing.

“We are proud to be backed by globally recognized investors providing a balance between deep-tech and emerging market expertise. We have together reached a clear strategic and visionary alignment – with the conviction that mass manufacturing of electric mobility solutions in Africa will not only make the products more accessible and affordable but also lead to one of the largest industrialization and welfare transitions of the region in modern time,” said Filip Gardler, CEO and co-founder of Opibus.

Founded in 2017, Opibus has over the years developed products in three main segments, electric motorcycles, electric public transport/commercial vehicles as well as charging and energy solutions. The focus is on creating sustainable ecosystems for mass transport in Africa.

The startup’s efficiency and rapid growth makes it the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in East Africa, earning it a place among leading automobile companies. Opibus was recently featured in National Geographic amongst VW, Tesla, and Rivian. The company is also recognized for having produced the first truly African electric motorcycle.

With focus in Africa, Opibus has a vision to create reliable and cost-effective products designed for the pan-African mass market. It already has existing customers across 6 countries in Africa, which makes the company the leading provider of electric vehicles designed and manufactured locally.

Opibus has also scored a high level of success in the fight against carbon emission. The company, in several vehicles deployed in different categories, has reduced customer CO2 emissions by 94% and operational expenditures by more than 60%. The company has a unique approach to both heavy electric vehicles and electric motorcycles.

The proprietary powertrain enables existing heavy commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks to be converted to electric – thereby reducing cost, resource use and giving the vehicles a second life. While the motorcycle is fully designed and tailored for the local use case, with a robust frame and dual swappable battery packs providing a perfect product-market fit, intended to maximize local content.

“The targets and objectives we’ve set for Opibus might seem bold, however, it is a mission that has become more important than ever. We have a responsibility to the coming generations and the earth as a whole.

“Opibus is taking a fundamentals-first approach to delivering a compelling customer value proposition that is tailored for the African market. Their vehicles are half the cost compared to second-hand fossil fuel vehicles and perform better in harsh road conditions. We are excited to be supporting them in their growth phase to achieve true impact at scale,” said Helen Lin, Principal At One Ventures.

The closed fundraising consists of $5M in equity and $2.5M in additional grants, totaling $7.5M. The investments will be used to prepare for scale-up and mass manufacturing starting 2022. Africa is one of the fastest-growing transportation markets globally, with a total market potential of $10 billion by 2030, and is largely untapped.

“The African market for electric mass transit vehicles, able to operate in the special conditions of the continent is huge but the competition is so far very limited, so there is great potential for Opibus.” Said Andrew Reicher, Board Member and investor. “The Opibus team is smart, decent and incredibly hard-working so if anyone can realise this potential, it’s them. This is one of the most exciting impact investments I’ve ever made.”

With Tesla and other major makers of electric vehicles still keeping their distance in Africa, Opibus stands a chance to lead the continent, leveraging the opportunity of a non-competitive huge market.

“The electric mobility space in Africa represents a huge opportunity; not only to provide a better service at a lower cost to customers but also to reduce carbon emissions and avoid deadly exposure to particulate pollution on a local level,” said Morgan DeFoort, Managing Partner Factor[e] Ventures.

“I have been around the world and I have never seen an airport that is as corrupt as the Lagos international airport in Nigeria, I mean, it’s extremely corrupt in every sense of it; picture corruption. It will have to be an example that’d pop up whenever you google for the meaning of corruption. Literally everywhere, literally everyone here is corrupt; you don’t want to wait online for Covid test? Pay this guy, you don’t want to stay in the queue? Pay this guy, you don’t want your bags get checked? Pay this guy, do you want to get in anything you want into the country? Pay this guy”

These were the exact words of American renown Vlogger; Tommy Elforastero (Sabbatica) on his recent visit to Nigeria.

Same was the ordeal of an American lady who visited her spouse in Nigeria this year, she went to social media to complain about how extremely corrupt the Nigerian airports are especially the Lagos international Airport. The airport staffs and workers are always looking for every means to extort travelers and demand for money for no reason if not you risk getting delayed and you can miss your flight if you refuse to ‘shake body or drop something’; the local parlances they use while demanding for bribes from people. She even made a video showing the faces of some of the airport staffs seeking bribes and trying to extort her. 

My own Personal experience;  as a constant traveler who have used the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, International Wing I can boldly attest to the alarming rate of corruption going on in that place. Everyone who have used MM2 will attest to this fact. When the American Vlogger said that the Airport is the example that will pop up when you google the meaning of corruption he is not exaggerating, infact he was even understating the facts; that airport is not just an example of corruption but corruption personified.

Nigerians who think that the government and those occupying government seats and offices are the most corrupt in Nigeria, well, the joke is on them; the ordinary citizens working as airport staffs and workers are the ‘concierge of corruption’, professors of corruption; the government officials should even learn the art of corruption from them. 

Travelers having crying out for the incessant extortions and bribery requests from the staffs at the airport. It won’t be far from the truth to say that nobody, not even a soul is clean of corruption there, from the high ranking officials to the least workers. They think that those traveling are traveling with bags of money and they should be extorted from so they come up with different means and stories to extort travelers and demand for bribe with so much impunity if not they won’t let you go to catch up with your flight. It’s either you succumb to them and let them extort you like a fool or they intentionally make you miss your flight. 

Travelers both Nigerian and expatriates have been complaining from time immemorial and people are still complaining about this till this day and nothing have been done about it, some have even accepted the extortion and bribery going on there as the Nigerian way of life and have come to force themselves to live with that style and you will have to budget for bribe money you will pay to Airport workers for not just cause while traveling. 

This have come to the breaking point, it has come to its last limit, this cannot be overstretched any longer, something need to be done urgently,  It’s high time the government of Nigeria look into that Airport and take some drastic measures to purge corruption and corrupt workers giving bad reputation to the country in order to salvage what is left of the dying reputation of the government.