It’s midmorning in Accra and a gaggle of motorbike riders are inspecting their bikes earlier than hitting the capital metropolis’s busy roads for the day’s deliveries as lunchtime orders begin to are available in.
Lawrence Akakpo removes a battery that powers his bike from its plug, fixes it to its seat on the two-wheeler, picks up his meals supply bag and strikes shortly to a pick-up level the place there’s an order ready to be delivered to a consumer. He owns a Wahu bike — an electric-powered bike that’s a part of a wave of electrical utility autos impacting job alternatives and the setting throughout the continent.
Uncertain of the place to show to after graduating from college, Lawrence got here throughout Wahu as a chance to earn a residing.
“Sitting at dwelling as a graduate was irritating. Approaching corporations as a job seeker or different alternatives comes at a price. I made a decision to provide Wahu a attempt to up to now, I can’t say I’ve regretted it,” he mentioned.
Lawrence like the opposite 150 Wahu riders, owes his livelihood to the imaginative and prescient of Valerie Labi, co-founder and CEO of Wahu Mobility.
What began as a challenge within the northern a part of Ghana with changing common motorbikes to electrical bikes with the assistance of like-minded mates, birthed what is thought at this time as Wahu Mobility. The startup describes itself as an Electrical Automobile (EV) firm that manufactures eco-friendly bikes offering a dependable supply of revenue for youth.
“I trip nearly the entire day; even at night time, I take pleasure in driving. I make between GHC100 (US$6.8) to GHC200 (US$13.6) relying available on the market. Generally you may go and are available again with GHC40 (US$2.8) when the orders are much less. I normally work with Yango however I’ve all of the accounts corresponding to Bolt Ship and except for that I do my non-public enterprise too with the Wahu bike,” Lawrence defined.
The younger rider feels he has extra management of his life since powering the bike requires solely turning on a swap to cost the battery as a substitute of being on the mercy of unpredictable gas costs. Upkeep and assist from the mobility firm additionally supply riders like him a lot consolation.
“I cost my batteries as soon as a day which takes about 5 to 6 hours which additionally permits us to get some relaxation. Some riders have moved from utilizing flamable motorbikes to Wahu because it’s an inexpensive various that comes with jobs,” Lawrence mentioned.
Adutwum Hagar Adutwumwaa, an engineer at Wahu Mobility, initially skilled in marine engineering. Her curiosity led her to Wahu, the place she oversees high quality checks and bike meeting. Regardless of becoming a member of the corporate simply six months in the past, she’s already made a big affect.
“It has been a tremendous journey… I’ve learnt new issues. Now I make batteries from recycled lithium iron cells,” Adutwum mentioned.
Being the one girl amongst males throughout her research internship and nationwide service, Adutwumwaa was completely happy to seek out different feminine colleagues who’re additionally engineers at Wahu Mobility.
“I used to be drawn to the revolutionary know-how and sustainable mission and I’ve not regretted it in any respect.”
A ride-to-own initiative is one a part of the startup’s mission. Completely different fee plans can be found to satisfy the pockets of would-be drivers, taking away the concern of riders who can not afford to pay upfront.
“We have now GHC300 (U$20.5) weekly for twenty-four months, GHC400 (US$27.2) weekly for 18 months and GHC600 ($40.8) weekly for 12 months. The fee plan you need determines the preliminary deposit,” defined Farida Mahama, the corporate’s Rider Champion Supervisor.
The typical price per cost of the battery is GHC4 ($0.27). That may take a motorbike round 70 kilometres.
Fortuitously for the younger start-up firm, convincing conventional motor riders to modify to electrical bikes has been simple due to the massive financial savings they make on gas.
“Deliveries on a petroleum bike, for instance, price round US$200 (GH¢2940) to US$250 (GH¢3675) a month however e-bikes are round US$30 (GH¢441) a month and that’s an enormous saving. Whereas they get monetary savings on petrol, we additionally give them the chance to earn persistently on our platforms,” Farida added.
Each Wahu bike rider goes via particular coaching on the best way to use the e-bikes earlier than hitting the street.
“Each rider has a rating system utilizing an app to test how nicely they trip. The system is designed to show off the bike when unsafe driving is detected,” Valerie mentioned.
Wahu additionally infuses know-how initiatives into its operations. The manufacturing unit the place the bikes are assembled and maintained is solar-powered and fully off-grid, creating vitality effectivity and sustainability.
The corporate is extraordinarily explicit concerning the affect of the enterprise on the local weather. The bikes are tracked to measure their environmental affect with each kilometre pushed serving to to forestall carbon emissions.
“We’re the primary EV firm to qualify for a compliance market deal. Which means we create real carbon credit as a method of additionally registering our affect. We observe each bike and calculate for each kilometre how a lot carbon is being saved,” Valerie defined.
The environmental affect of the EV economic system is getting nationwide consideration in Ghana, with establishments just like the nation’s Environmental Safety Company (EPA) and the Ministry of Transport main the cost.
“Are Ghanaians prepared for electrical autos? The reply is sure,” mentioned Antwi Boasiako Amoah, from the EPA’s Local weather Vulnerability and Adaptation group.
“However who ought to we goal for this funding, and which car varieties will maximise the advantages in a creating nation like ours?”
Antwi emphasised that the EV business affords huge alternatives past job creation, with the EPA working to advertise funding within the sector.
“Some buyers can deal with transport programs corresponding to uber, taxis, supply providers utilizing EVs. We provide steerage and recommendation on the understanding of the implications of such an funding when it comes to legal guidelines, market urge for food and others. We additionally work with different sister establishments such because the Ministry of Transport and Power amongst others to cross-fertilise our concepts.”
A partnership was the breakthrough for Labi when she partnered with like-minded individuals to determine Wahu Mobility. Localisation was key, with Wahu aiming for vital native content material in every bike.
“At the least 85% each EV may be produced regionally in Ghana or ECOWAS or Africa,” the co-founder mentioned.
“We began with off-the-shelf-vehicles-to-digital conversions. We’ve labored all the best way to the manufacturing unit that we’ve got and we’ve got an over 24-month program underway for localization parts,” she mentioned.
Nonetheless, although the Ministry of Transport adopted an EV coverage in December 2023 to assist the sector and handle world warming, younger corporations like Wahu don’t qualify for the incentives.
Valerie additionally expressed disappointment on the lack of regulatory measures for improvements in product improvement within the automotive business.
“There’s solely an automotive affiliation for assemblers in Ghana, which implies that in the event you’re designing a element or designing a car, there’s no regulatory path for you as an innovator to get assist from the federal government. And that’s a shortfall,” she mentioned.
Nonetheless, a Nationwide Electrical Automobile Coverage is anticipated to be rolled out in Ghana in three phases between 2027 and 2035 to attain an EV penetration charge of about 35%.
The coverage features a waiver of import duties on EVs designated for public transport and authorized meeting corporations can even take pleasure in tax exemptions on semi-knocked and fully knocked down EVs for eight years beginning in 2024 and an extension of Worth Added Tax exemptions on regionally assembled autos for 2 extra years.
In line with Ghana’s Minister of Power, Mathew Opoku Prempeh, the nation at the moment has roughly 17,000 registered electrical autos, together with two-, three-, and four-wheel fashions.
Regardless of the challenges, Wahu is optimistic about its long-term purpose of “turning the corporate right into a revenue-generating asset over time” and exporting to international locations throughout Africa.
“What we see in Ghana and a whole lot of African international locations is that there’s no assist for supply riders and that’s what the corporate seeks to alter. We just lately opened our workplace in Lomé, Togo the place a lot of the riders are ladies.”
Wahu additionally at the moment has partnerships throughout all universities in Ghana and thru this initiative trains and recruits new employees.
“We launch challenges on the universities and provides college students the chance to reply to these challenges and from there we regularly choose our group. Via this, we realised Ghanaian youth usually are not simply in search of job alternatives however a path to breakthrough. They want employers to carry their palms and co-create with them,” defined Valarie.
“I’m completely happy once I meet a Wahu rider. I’m proud to see a transition in lots of their lives.”
Wahu hopes to be the primary producer of EVs on the continent.
“It’s about constructing a legacy for younger Africans the world over to have the ability to use our abilities and maximise to make a optimistic contribution,” Valerie mentioned.
Lawrence envisions proudly owning a fleet of electrical bikes to run a supply enterprise via financial savings he makes from his partnership with Wahu.
“I want to encourage the youth, particularly those that are jobless, to reap the benefits of initiatives like this as a substitute of staying dwelling always to rely upon their dad and mom,” he mentioned.
Story Credit score: Sefakor Fekpe for Hen Story Company
