By Robyn Joubert
The innovative Roam Air electric motorcycle highlights Africa’s ability to manufacture fit-for-Africa sustainable transport that farmers can charge wherever they charge their phones, delegates heard at the 2025 Africa Green Economic Summit on 20 February in Cape Town.
Produced by Swedish-Kenyan tech company Roam, the Roam Air e-motorcycle is designed for the African market and tougher road conditions. It has a range of 180km, a payload of 220kg, and a portable battery that can be charged in four hours at any standard wall outlet.
“Only 10% to 20% of vehicle ownership is in capital cities – most is in low density areas. That means battery swopping and roadside charging infrastructure solutions don’t work. You need to give flexibility where people charge and Roam can be charged wherever you charge your phone,” said Hans van Toor, Roam strategy and innovation manager and chair of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) Electric Mobility Sub-Sector.
This is good news for farmers, who often turn to zippy motorcycles for their ability to carry small loads and quickly check on different parts of their farms.
Founded in 2017, Roam has spent seven years developing e-motorcycles, e-buses and energy and public charging systems for Africa. The Roam Air’s sleek, strong design and zero-emission profile makes it a game-changer in the e-motorcycle industry. In 2024, the bike dominated the market with 40% of e-motorcycles on Kenyan roads.
“Most electric vehicles (EVs) currently on the market are not designed for African roads. This is the gap that Roam fills: e-vehicles with high performance and high affordability,” said Hans.
Roam has also disrupted Kenya’s EV market with flexible payment options that offer owners the ability to own both the bike and the battery. EV companies typically use a swapping model where the consumer owns the motorcycle and the battery ownership stays with the company.
“This reduces the (consumers) cost initially but in the end, they pay more. And that’s because EV companies generally don’t earn on the direct sale of the vehicle, they earn on the energy.”
While it costs slightly more initially to purchase both the battery and the motorcycle, this option can lead to savings on maintenance and fuel of up to 60%, he said.
Transport in Africa
Transport in Africa is a rapidly growing market, with four million motorcycles and 250 000 buses coming to market every year.
“This growth is declining because the cost of fossil fuel isn’t economically or ecologically viable. Our planetary health is suffering with floodings and droughts and our people health is suffering. The solution is electric,” said Hans.
Roam is now in a big push to expand local manufacturing capabilities and scale up production at Roam Park, the largest e-motorcycle assembly plant in East Africa. The facility, which is located off Mombasa Road overlooking the Nairobi National Park, has an annual production capacity of more than 50 000 motorcycles.
These efforts align with Roam’s long-term goal of transitioning the transport sector across Africa to effective and affordable EVs, producing in-house and procuring locally sourced parts as much as possible.
“Currently we have 227 people working at the facility. We now produce 53 out of 273 components in Kenya,” said Hans.
Long term, stable, progressive and harmonised policies will be a key enabler of the growth of green industrialisation.
“Today, importers pay less taxes in Kenya than local manufacturing. Yet importing fully built EVs or semi-knocked-down kits from China doesn’t add a lot of local value to the region.”
Funding is another critical step to building Africa’s EV market.
“We need public and private finance. Today, everybody says industrialisation is important but there is no finance,” said Hans.
Visit Roam for more information.
