More than an infrastructure problem

Electrifying two- and three-wheelers in Africa isn't really a vehicle problem. It's an infrastructure problem and, even more, an ecosystem one.

That was the question in Addis Ababa this September, when Blu EV's Co-founder and CEO, Rida Baalbaki, joined a panel on 2/3-wheeler infrastructure deployment models at the Nordic-Africa EV Summit. Operators, utilities, financiers and policymakers were all in the room, working on the same question from different angles.

A platform, not a vehicle company

Rida's view is simple: stations and batteries alone don't build a market. That's why Blu EV started as an e-mobility platform rather than a vehicle company or a battery-as-a-service operator.

“From the very beginning, we realized that to get into this business, we need to own and control our technology stack and build an ecosystem where all the players are contributors and beneficiaries at the same time.”

An ecosystem built around the rider

That ecosystem brings together everyone pulling in the same direction:

• OEM partners who build the vehicles

• Last-mile operators, aggregators, ride-hailing platforms, 3PL logistics providers and fleet managers who drive demand

• Financial institutions that finance riders

• Regulators and government entities, with whom the legal framework is being built

Every player serves the same end user: the rider. The platform connects them, and the data serves them back.