Spiro, the electric mobility company building battery-swapping infrastructure for motorcycles across Africa, has raised $215 million in equity funding as it pushes deeper into a capital-intensive race to electrify urban transport.
The round, backed by investors including Impact Fund Denmark and Equitane, comes four months after Spiro secured $50 million in debt financing and less than a year after a separate $100 million equity raise led by Afreximbank’s Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA).
The latest investment signals continued investor appetite for electric mobility businesses that control both vehicles and the infrastructure needed to keep them running. While several African startups have entered the sector, battery-swapping networks remain expensive to build, requiring dense station coverage, battery inventory and local assembly capacity.
Spiro is positioning itself for the growing demand for electric motorcycles as fuel costs rise and governments seek to reduce reliance on imported petroleum products. The company says riders can cut operating costs by up to 40% compared to petrol-powered bikes.
The fresh capital will fund expansion of its swapping network, manufacturing operations and energy infrastructure, including solar-powered swap stations and battery storage systems.
Founded in 2022, Spiro operates in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon. The company said in a statement that it has deployed more than 100,000 electric motorcycles and built over 2,500 battery-swapping stations across its markets.
The raise adds to a growing flow of climate and infrastructure capital into Africa’s electric transport sector. Investors are backing companies that combine vehicle financing, energy infrastructure and local manufacturing rather than focusing only on vehicle sales.
Spiro assembles vehicles in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda and operates a battery recycling facility in Nigeria. The company said it plans further expansion into markets including Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“This past year marked a defining strategic milestone for Spiro,” founder Gagan Gupta said in a statement, pointing to the company’s vehicle deployments and swap-station network across seven markets.
The funding strengthens Spiro’s position in a crowded market that includes players such as Ampersand, Roam and BasiGo, even as questions remain over how quickly electric mobility operators can reach profitability while financing large infrastructure rollouts across multiple countries.
