Taxi hailing company Bolt is in talks with the government to provide more electric powered cars, motorcycles, bicycles and scooters.
This followed Kenyan delegation visit to Bolt Headquarters, in Tallin Estonia where they were shown various electric enabled transport modes including e-scooters.
However, questions have emerged about Kenya’s infrastructure readiness to embrace this mode of transport.
This comes as players in Kenya's taxi industry hopes on riding on e-mobility opportunities received a major push following the just concluded African Climate Summit.
The Bolt team, led by CEO and Co-Founder, Martin Villig, and officials from Kenya led by Principal Secretary Anne-Njoki Wang’ombe, discussed the potential areas of partnership and expanding the country’s ride-hailing and gig economy sectors.
The company plans to deploy at least Sh100 million in the Kenyan market as part of expanding its electric mobility offerings.
Speaking at an Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit, Villig, said that Bolt’s vision aligns with Kenya's aims on mobility.
“We are committed to forging strong partnerships that support local communities, drive economic growth, and enhance the quality of life for all urban citizens. We discussed how to bring more sustainable vehicles to the streets in Kenya and adapt the local infrastructure to the needs of the future of mobility,” said Villig.
The CEO said they now have more than one million drivers and couriers from Africa who are part of 3.5 million partners using the bolt application to earn a living.
Wang'ombe said the delegation identified major opportunities of improving transport infrastructure and are ready to implement this through partnership.
“Exploring the mobility solutions provided by Bolt has been an eye-opening experience. The Kenyan government continues to work together towards our national development goals, by building partnerships with forward-thinking industry leaders like Bolt.” she said.
During their Kenyan visit in February, Bolt announced plans to invest €500 million (Sh78.3billion) in its operations on the continent over the next two years.
The funds will be used to expand Bolt services in Africa and create opportunities for over 300,000 new drivers and couriers to join the platform in 2023.
These customers are spread across its suite of mobility products, which include ride-hailing, micro mobility (scooter and e-bike rental), food delivery, grocery delivery, Bolt Drive and a free-floating car-sharing service.
