Electric bikes (or okada) are entering Nigeria. India offers key lessons

The electric-bike startup Spiro is expanding into Nigeria and planning to entice motorbike taxi (okada) operators to switch from petrol-powered bikes to the green alternative.

Spiro, which already operates in Benin, Togo, Rwanda and Kenya with a fleet of 12,000 bikes, has partnered with the Ogun state government to deploy 250 stations that will allow drivers to switch electric batteries for their vehicles. The stations are expected to be ready over the next six months, the company said in a statement.

“The launch in Ogun State is particularly exhilarating, a first step in our ambitious plans to electrify Nigeria, Africa’s largest market,” said Kaushik Burman, CEO of Spiro.

The Spiro commando bikes boast a range of 70–80 kilometres per battery swap. By transitioning to electric bikes, operators will enjoy an estimated 30–40% reduction in operational expenses, the company said.

Under the model, the level of charge in each battery is monitored in real time, allowing riders to pay only for the energy they use. Lower operational cost will be an attraction at a time of a cost-of-living crisis caused by the removal of petrol subsidy.

Beyond the economic benefits, electric bikes offer the added advantages of being environmentally friendly and producing minimal noise pollution. Ogun state and Spiro hope the initiative will help reduce carbon emissions.

“We are excited about the multitude of benefits that electric bikes bring to our state,” Gov. Dapo Abiodun said.

Although motorbike taxis and keke are the main form of last-mile transportation in Nigerian cities, they have faced regulatory uncertainty in recent years. Lagos state banned motorbike-taxi services in 2021, and other cities have done same or are planning to, as a way of tackling a kidnapping crisis.

Regardless of the challenge, these means of transportation remain popular in Nigeria and constitute a major source of air pollution and carbon emission. India’s experience shows electric bikes and tricycles could help reduce emissions.

How battery swapping works: India experience

Electric bikes and battery swapping are already transforming transportation and reducing carbon emissions in some countries. India, for instance, is witnessing change as companies introduce battery swapping networks, slashing costs for bikes and tricycles.

With these networks, vehicles are sold separately from their power sources. They pay for electricity as needed, similar to buying petrol for combustion engines but at a fraction of the cost, according to Cipher, a Microsoft-backed platform covering the technological innovations we need to combat climate change and transform our global energy systems.

Battery swapping at kiosks is faster than refuelling a traditional vehicle, and lower prices are driving a surge in EV adoption, particularly in India’s urbanizing population, where many are transitioning from bikes to motorized vehicles for the first time.

“You have 100 million people coming into this segment, and another 100 million people coming in the next segment,” Chetan Maini, chairman and co-founder of Sun Mobility, a company that runs a fast-expanding battery swapping network in the country, told Cipher.

Sun Mobility operates over 630 swapping stations across 19 Indian cities and conducts about one million battery swaps monthly.

Racing to regulate

India is the world’s third-largest CO2 emitter, although majority of its carbon emissions come from the coal-dominated power sector. Electric vehicles (EVs) offer a promising solution, and to combating India’s notorious air pollution.

Already about half of three-wheel auto rickshaws sold are electric models, while electric two-wheelers account for about 4% of sales and electric cars about 1%.

The Indian government views the new sector as a multifaceted solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, combat air pollution, and stimulate job creation through battery and vehicle manufacturing, and is racing to regulate it.

The company eyes expansion into Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

“The opportunity is to directly go electric,” he said. “It just makes a lot of financial sense for these countries.”