In Zimbabwe, InfraCo Africa, an investment company of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has signed a US$2 million (Z$723.8 billion) deal to deploy 400 electric vehicles from the start-up Mobility for Africa in rural areas.
The vehicles, called “hambas” (go ahead, in the local Ndebele language), are solar-powered and assembled in the capital Harare.
The contract also includes the manufacture of 600 electric batteries and the installation of eight charging stations. It aims to develop a sustainable transport system to stimulate sustainable development, particularly in communities not yet served by the national electricity grid in Zimbabwe.
“This partnership will enhance the role of rural women as key contributors to economic agricultural productivity, as well as gender equality and climate resilience as enshrined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),”
Shantha Bloemen, CEO of Mobility for Africa.
Promoting electric mobility
The solutions of the start-up founded in 2019 will facilitate access for doctors to patients who reside far from health centres as well as the transportation of goods to major Zimbabwean metropolises such as Bulawayo, Chitungwiza, Mutare and Harare.
Since the beginning of 2022, the electric mobility sector has been booming in Zimbabwe. The European Union (EU) recently purchased 88 electric tricycles for women farmers in Domboshava, 27 km from Harare, to encourage the development of the green economy in the East African country.
Earlier in May 2022, energy solutions company Zuva signed a contract with Electric Vehicle Center Africa (EVCA) to install a network of charging stations for electric vehicles in the Zimbabwean capital. The contract covers the installation of a prototype charger for electric vehicles in Harare as well as charging stations at Zuva service stations on the country’s highways.