Why EV-only ride-hailing fleets are rising

• Africa’s ride-hailing industry is dominated by global firms such as Uber and Bolt. But an increasing number of local startups are entering the lucrative business, some with disruptive models. The most notable is the growing shift to EVs, with some offering fleets exclusively made up of EVs. 

• EVs are cheaper to run on a daily basis compared to fuel vehicles, making them attractive to taxi operators especially in Nigeria, where fuel prices have become prohibitive. There are millions of taxi operators in Africa, meaning that replacing ICE taxis with EVs could be pivotal in growing electric mobility on the continent. 

• Our take: Africa’s ride-hailing industry holds major growth potential but local startups need further investor capital to compete with the established multinationals… Read more (2 min)

Mobility staff index drops 7% in April 

• The index, composed of five key parameters, went down from 274 in March to 255 in April. During the period, the number of EV firms that advertised job openings declined from 22 to 17, while the number of job openings reduced from 88 to 78. The number of senior staff at the top ten firms rose by 2% to 2,830 from 2,766, while their average annual salary remained steady at $82,000.

• Despite the slowdown in senior staff hiring over the past month, the sector has grown rapidly over the past year, leading to a hiring spree for top talent especially in key departments such as engineering, product management, operations and sales. The continent’s leading electric mobility firms have raised millions of dollars in funding during the period to fund their expansion.

• Our take: The increase in hiring in the sector over the past year is an indicator of the major growth potential it has to create thousands of new jobs… Read more (2 min)

  East African mobility firms top hiring this week 

• Rwanda shows strong alignment between policy incentives and private sector hiring, a sign of an evolving local EV ecosystem with roles spanning garage entrepreneurship, EV charging, marketing, and grant writing.

• Nigeria’s MAX is strengthening its administrative and human resources capacity. Over the past four weeks, the company has emerged as a leading recruiter, expanding its presence across multiple locations in Nigeria. These support roles point to ongoing business consolidation rather than a focus on infrastructure expansion.

• Our take: Explore this week's jobs here… (1 min)