Our investment is making electric transport affordable for boda boda riders, while also lowering emissions
In Kenya, motorcycle taxis, known as boda bodas, are far more than a mode of transport. They connect communities, create livelihoods and reach places that buses and cars simply cannot. But the country’s reliance on petrol motorbikes comes at a cost: Kenya’s transport sector accounts for 13 per cent of national greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2025, we invested £3.8 million in ARC Ride, a Nairobi-based electric mobility company. ARC Ride designs and assembles electric two-wheelers, backed by a battery swapping network and a Battery-as-a-Service model that makes clean transport practical and affordable at scale. The company is also committed to building a more inclusive workforce. Women make up 40 per cent of ARC Ride’s workforce, thanks to proactive efforts to support female talent, including in technical engineering roles.
Our investment is supporting the rollout of 5,000 electric boda bodas and expanding ARC Ride’s battery swapping infrastructure across Africa. ARC Ride currently has 15 hubs in Nairobi and 250 battery swapping stations that are enabling about 10,000 swaps a day. For riders, switching to electric means lower running costs and more reliable income. For Kenya, it means measurable progress on emissions: ARC Ride’s EV rollout is expected to avoid more than 100,000 metric tonnes of emissions per year.
Most commercial lenders are not yet ready to back early-stage businesses like ARC Ride. We’re helping to bridge that gap, while also helping to create real economic opportunities for some of Kenya’s most informal yet essential workers.
