MOPO secures $7M for Africa expansion

From the newsletter

Pay-per-use battery service provider MOPO has secured $7 million (£5.6 million) financing from British International Investment (BII) to expand its services in Africa. The British company provides batteries for use at home, business and in EVs. MOPO currently operates in Nigeria, DRC, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Chad & Uganda. 

• MOPO offers two types of battery rentals: the compact MOPO50 which are used for lighting, phone charging, and powering DC appliances, and the larger MOPOMax, designed to power larger 230V appliances, replacing petrol generators or serve as a battery swap solution for electric motorcycles.

• Customers rent, return, and replace these MOPO batteries on a pay-per-use basis at MOPO’s solar-powered hubs, which are managed by local agents.

More details

• MOPO, which is based in Sheffield in the UK, is planning to use the BII funding to expand its coverage in Africa, especially in DRC. The company launched its operations in the DRC in quarter two of 2024 and now operates across six cities. It wants to triple its service capacity in the populous country within the next 12 months and reach over 1 million people.

• Agents purchase MOPO activation credits via Mobile Money, which are then loaded onto their NFC wristbands. These wristbands act as an 'e-wallet' exclusively for the MOPO Platform, allowing agents to rent MOPO Batteries even in areas without electricity access.

• Pay-per-use is growing in prominence in Africa, attracting new investors into the space. The model helps lower the upfront cost of access to electricity and electric vehicles. It allows customers to eliminate the risks of owning batteries and provide all the benefits of electrical power. Usually, the battery service provider takes full responsibility for the batteries, from certification to maintenance plus technology upgrades.

• Battery swapping is also a model that is gaining momentum in Africa. Battery service providers set up swapping stations where EV users can leave their depleted batteries and pick charged batteries. This also saves charging time. Electric mobility companies that offer these services on the continent include Ampersand, ROAM, and Zembo.

• More than 600 million people, or 43% of Africa’s total population, lack access to electricity, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Countries such as Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda are on track for full access by 2030, but many other countries lag behind. This has opened a gap for battery service providers on the continent to provide access to those who lack access to the grid. 

Our take

• The African transport sector is the fastest growing in the world. Globally, the number of vehicles will double by 2050 and the majority of these will be in Africa. But the continent still lacks good roads, which has led to increased use of motorcycles. In fact, over 50% of vehicles sold in West Africa are motorcycles, compared to 3% in the US. Advances in electric vehicles offer affordable electric motorcycles. Yet, Africa doesn’t have the electricity infrastructure to support an e-mobility revolution. Innovative models such as pay-per-use and battery swapping will be key in supporting the growth of e-mobility on the continent.

• Most battery service providers in Africa are startups that were established within the last 15 years. These startups face major capital constraints, limiting their ability to expand their services to more people. BII’s financing of MOPO shows the key role that financiers, both commercial and development lenders, will play in Africa’s EVs revolution.

• Access to electricity is central to Africa’s e-mobility transition. But funding for electrification projects remains inadequate. Electrifying Africa would require an estimated $25 billion per year in investments to achieve universal access to modern energy by 2030. African countries should accelerate investments in power access to grow e-mobility.