M Auto, a ‘mobility as a service’ startup has raised undisclosed funding from Africa Transformation and Industrialisation Fund (ATIF), an Africa-focused investment fund, to launch in Togo and Benin in a move that will see it as the largest electric vehicle startup in Africa with 500 e-bikes on the ground and 3 000 bikes ready for market.
M Auto’s mission is to provide access to innovative and sustainable electric mobility solutions to improve the quality of life of all African users. The startup uses a lease-to-own model for its green (zero carbon emissions), affordable (less than 2 dollars/day), digitally enabled (IoT enabled system), e-bikes and offers an unparalleled mileage range via swappable charging battery stations.
“Benin and Togo have the biggest demand for commercial two-wheelers and progressive government policy for domestic manufacturing in the energy transition. M Auto has been welcomed to build manufacturing capacity in the industrial zone that will boost home-grown innovation and sustainable development in the long-term,” explains co-founder, Yasmeen Jawaharali.
the African continent, with innovative systems that accelerate earning potential through productive assets ownership. Its cost-effective and convenient mobility solutions foster inclusiveness and promote environmental sustainability in Africa.
M Auto has begun building its own factories in Togo and Benin that will manufacture exclusive and specially designed for the African market e-bikes and batteries allowing to create more jobs and ensuring that the process is by Africans for Africans. Benin and Togo are just the start; Jawaharali’s ambition is to quickly expand into neighbouring markets and further afield after the foothold is established.
“The investment in M Auto is fully aligned with ATIF’s vision and mission to accelerate Africa’s industrial transformation and ecological transition while creating jobs and lifting people out of poverty,” according to Shegun Adjadi Bakari, a partner at ATIF.