Who in Africa is able to raise money for EVs?

From the newsletter

Successful fundraising is essential to building a mobility business in Africa… but tricky to achieve. A review of monthly totals for funds raised shows that successful leaders come from relatively diverse backgrounds – with one glaring exception. Seven EV-related founders landed new cash in October, and all of them were male.

• These seven men were educated in a variety of countries and continents. Some in Africa (Egypt and South Africa) and others in Europe and America.

• Their ages vary too. One built a startup straight out of university while another pursued a career for 14 years before creating his own venture. 

More details

• The number of founders involved in successful fundraising in October (7) was roughly stable compared to the previous quarter. From July to September, the number of raising founders was between 3 and 8, with an average of 5.66.

• Three of the four companies who raised are at an intermediate stage where their senior and mid-level teams comprise between 36 and 90 people. The fourth is at seed stage.

• To see more financial details please see our coverage yesterday. The funding data is compiled by specialist site Africa: The Big Deal.

• The number of years the four CEOs held a career before founding a business ranged from 1 to 6 and 8 and finally 14 years. This is shorter on average than in previous months, when raising CEOs spent as much as 20 years as salarymen.  

• The universities they graduated from included The American University in Cairo, Stellenbosch University, University of Bristol and University of California, Berkeley.

• Jit Bhattacharya, the CEO of BasiGo, who raised $42 million in debt and equity, is the only business school graduate.  

• Two CEOs are solo founders, while the other two are part of founding teams. But none included a woman. The same is true for the previous three months. 

Our take

• The thing about the lack of female founders is that women buy vehicles too. In South Africa, women account for 36.5% of new and used vehicle sales. Female consumers will be essential for manufacturers to reach scale. An industry short on female leadership will be myopic in the long term. Understanding consumers is about more than just marketing to buyers who are segmented by gender, among other things.

• Africa’s mobility is not the playground for student founders. Most successful entrepreneurs focused on solving electric transport issues are seasoned professionals. And that makes sense. The scale of a successful enterprise in this sector is substantial. And the capital needs in a hardware-heavy industry are vast. Investors seem to trust in experience. 

• The mix of solo-entrepreneurs and multi-member founding teams is remarkable. Many investors prefer larger teams, in theory. But the still-evolving nature of the sector means that solo founders benefit from greater agility.