Wahu Mobility, an open e-mobility platform which connects drivers, passengers, and goods, has designed an electric bike from procurement to production.
The bike, designed and manufactured in Ghana, is tailored for the realities of African roads and made for both a quick commute and carrying loads.
“We have started with the two-wheel electric bike, and by the end of this month, we will have our factory set up that will help us with the capability to do 200 bikes per month for export and not just in ECOWAS but across the continent,” Valerie Labi, CEO of Wahu Mobility said in November 9, 2023, at the Africa Investment Forum 2023 in the Palace Congress, Marrakech, Morocco.
The firm aims to reduce carbon dioxide to create employment opportunities and to enable price stability. “We put Ghana at the forefront of African e-mobility and sustainability. Ghana’s success becomes a blueprint for other African countries.”
What is carbon-backed asset financing?
Carbon financing is the process of putting money into entities or activities that most need it or can put to the most productive use.
Carbon finance supports an asset that is the main culprit of global warming and climate change – carbon dioxide or its equivalent with the sole purpose of reducing global carbon emissions by offering opportunities to mitigate the effects of climate change through emissions reduction projects.
Wahu as a Carbon-backed asset financing project
Wahu Mobility has recently announced that it has secured an undisclosed investment from Blue Lion, a distinguished family office and central investment firm affiliated with the German family-owned Schörghuber Corporate Group.
“We locally design and manufacture electric vehicles and so connected electric vehicles I have been on a journey of setting a zone in the central of Accra which have several continents to it,” Labi, the CEO of Wahu Mobility, said while speaking on ‘Made in Africa: Unlocking the potential of domestic manufacturing’ at the Africa Investment Forum 2023.
“Entrepreneurship in Africa at the moment can focus on digital platforms but we need to look at how to create a path for entrepreneurs to go from startups to established markets and scale up which starts with creating an enabling environment from a policy perspective,” she said.
She stated that regulators can create a path for the innovation of products, for beneficial ownership, and also invest in the raw materials value chain.
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“Investment that we are seeing in the startup ecosystem is not enough or is not focused on the capital expenditure needed to set up factories,” Labi said.
The CEO of Wahu Mobility stated that in Ghana specifically, “we have a strong base on engineering talent, and if you go to many automotive companies across the world, you will find Ghanaians, Nigerian, and African engineers at the heart of that.”
She urged Africa to be meaningful about creating manufacturing companies that will start creating electric vehicles for the continent, saying Africa should also attract talent. “In Ghana currently, we have an entrepreneurship environment. I will say we have the talent.”
“We are building our very first vehicle that is a four-wheeler tailored for Africa,” the CEO of Wahu Mobility said.
