| Company | Mobility for Africa |
| Sector | Transportation |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Total Project Cost | USD 5.5m |
| PIDG Commitment |
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| Dates of PIDG involvement |
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In rural and peri-urban areas of Zimbabwe, people often travel significant distances on foot or by bicycle to accomplish domestic tasks or to access markets. Without access to reliable public transport, medical emergencies can escalate, and farm produce can spoil. Those with access to vehicles are vulnerable to the impact of fluctuating global fuel supplies and prices which are often prohibitively high. A ReCAP research study suggests that transport barriers disproportionately impact women. Zimbabwe’s government has developed the National E-Mobility Policy and Market Readiness Framework which aims to transform Zimbabwe’s transport sector into a modern, sustainable, forward-looking sector. The Framework seeks to improve access to affordable, clean transport without reducing air quality or undermining the country’s efforts to meet its emissions reduction targets.
Mobility for Africa seeks to address the dual crises of rural mobility and climate change in Zimbabwe by delivering an electric transport solution for people living in rural and peri-urban areas – particularly women. Support from InfraCo is enabling Mobility for Africa to scale its offering, expanding its existing one hundred and ninety vehicle fleet to deliver four hundred new e-tricycles known locally as ‘Hambas.’ The pilot will also deliver six hundred additional batteries and eight new solar-powered battery charging stations at strategic locations in south-eastern Zimbabwe.
‘Hambas’ can be owned, leased, or rented on an ad hoc basis, often by a group of women, enabling them to undertake domestic tasks, and to earn an income transporting passengers or taking their produce to market. Designed without a straddle bar, the vehicles are comfortable for women to drive.
The hard-wearing vehicles are designed for rural roads and have electric batteries which can be charged using community-based off-grid solar power with grid back up. Drivers can swap a depleted battery for a fully charged one and continue their journey.
The project aims to enable Mobility for Africa to scale its business with a view to positioning it to attract further private sector finance with a view to scaling its electric mobility offering to other customer groups and to new geographies across the region.
InfraCo brings its expertise in electric mobility projects in Kenya and Uganda to the initiative as well as its track record of supporting businesses to embed high HSES standards.
Access to a ‘Hamba’ can increase the time that women have available to pursue economic opportunities, improving household incomes. The vehicles enable people to reach clinics swiftly and, when used by clinicians themselves, can support delivery of services, such as vaccination programmes, and maternity care, over a wider area than would be possible by bicycle or on foot.
Technical assistance was used to support the company with HSES management systems, technical training, the establishment of a digital management platform as well as the adaptation and localisation of the trike design.
