Less than one month ago, electric vehicle firm Roam, formerly known as Opibus revealed the availability of its electric motorbike named Roam Air. The motorcycle is available for purchase in Kenya for KES 180,000.
Now, Roam says it has a supply agreement with fintech and credit firm M-KOPA. The development marks a large-scale supply agreement for electric motorcycles in Africa.
Furthermore, the agreement will enable the credit sales of electric motorcycles, lowering the barrier to entry for customers through affordable payment plans.
Roam adds that it will deliver the fleet by the end of 2022 in time for mass deployment in early 2023.
This milestone supports Roam’s vision of making electric vehicles more accessible to a broader market.
As said previously, the bikes come equipped with a removable dual battery pack, which makes sense because it lowers downtime and increases rider flexibility.
M-KOPA is known for its lead in IoT products and services. The tech will be used to see M-KOPA customers buy the bikes on a loan basis but without collateral. M-KOPA will also play a key role in deploying the bikes via its pay-as-you-go model.
This will enable customers to lower their operational costs by over 70%, which results in increased daily income by 50%, a boost that can fundamentally change the livelihoods of the drivers – Roam in a statement.
Quotes
“This agreement is an incredible trigger for electric motorcycle adoption in emerging markets and validates our vision of releasing a locally designed product that exceeds the experience of traditional fossil fuel motorcycles for a similar price. We want to provide a compelling environmental and economic solution for markets that haven’t been part of the electric vehicle transition yet. We believe the motorcycle taxi industry is one of the most impactful areas to start, given the growing market size and importance for low-income earners not only in Africa but globally. Our partnership with M-KOPA will drive us both towards our shared vision of cleaner mobility,” Mikael Gånge, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Roam
“The partnership with Roam aligns us with a major player equally committed to Africa’s sustainable development and sees us expand our product offerings to include electric motorcycles, which is a true testament to the versatility of our fintech platform. At M-KOPA, we’re committed to lowering the barriers to entry and making everyday essentials accessible, especially to underbanked customers, through flexible payment plans. This rollout will have a transformative effect on the daily incomes of businesspeople and reduce the environmental footprint of commerce, as it continues to grow in rapidly developing markets,” David Damberger, Managing Director – M-KOPA Mobility and M-KOPA Labs
