EVs at the Growth Point – US$2 mil invested to solve Zim’s rural transport crisis

The GIST: InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has signed an agreement committing US$2 million to scale the offering of Mobility for Africa, an electric mobility company delivering affordable, cargo-carrying e-tricycles and solar-powered battery charging solutions for underserved communities in rural Zimbabwe.

The transport situation in Zimbabwe is seriously messed up right now. Earlier this week the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) announced that it was going to be shutting down its urban commuter train service due to debts owed to NRZ by ZUPCO.

While urbanites might cry at that announcement (although I am not sure how effective the train service was in actuality) for the rural commuter not much has changed since the turn of the 2010s, dear I say even as far back as the turn of the millennium.

61.4 per cent of Zimbabwe's population lives in rural areas and if you have ever been where the tar ends and the dust roads begin, you'll know that getting a lift is a complicated undertaking on a good day. The situation is even worse for those who rely on the frail transport network to ship goods to and fro.