Nithio, a Washington-based climate fintech platform, has provided financing to Nigerian electric mobility company MAX, extending the company's Series B3 funding round to US$29 million. The size of Nithio's individual contribution was not disclosed, but the investment will support MAX's expansion of clean, affordable, and inclusive mobility solutions across West and Central Africa. The move reflects Nithio's growing commitment to electric mobility as a central pillar of its clean energy investment strategy.
Strategic Investment Rationale
Nithio has historically focused on clean energy companies, and its backing of MAX represents a deliberate extension into electric mobility. The firm's risk analytics engine uses customer repayment data, geospatial data, and artificial intelligence to standardize credit risk assessment in markets where traditional credit histories are scarce. Raghav Sachdeva, Nithio's Chief Investment Officer, said MAX's combination of technology, financing, and operational expertise aligns strongly with the climate and financial inclusion outcomes the firm seeks to support.
MAX's Integrated Platform and Scale
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Lagos, MAX operates Africa's first integrated electric vehicle and battery subscription platform built for African roads. The company combines OEM vehicle and battery partnerships, solar-powered charging and battery swapping infrastructure, IoT-enabled fleet management, digital payments, and financing into a single operating system. MAX reported profitability in Nigeria in January 2026 after deploying over US$56 million in fleet financing and repaying US$44 million to date.
Charging and OEM Partnerships
MAX operates in 20 cities across Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon, with an expansion pipeline covering nine additional African markets. Its extended energy network includes 288 battery cabinets across 143 swap locations, supported in part by 1MWp of solar generation capacity that has produced more than 200,000 kWh of clean energy. The company says its solar-powered energy hubs deliver a levelized cost of energy that is 50% cheaper than Nigeria's Band A grid tariff.
The Economic Case for Electric Mobility
Africa's rapid urbanization is increasing demand for affordable transportation while high fuel, maintenance, and financing costs place significant pressure on commercial transport operators. Electric mobility offers a decisive opportunity to lower operating costs while cutting emissions. MAX says its electric vehicles, paired with solar-powered swap stations, reduce drivers' total energy and maintenance costs by more than 40% compared to petrol-powered alternatives at current Nigerian pump prices.
Market Challenges and Policy Support
Nigeria's electric mobility ambitions still face significant infrastructure constraints, including one of the lowest levels of per-capita power availability among major economies. The national grid supplies approximately 4,000 megawatts for more than 200 million people, and public charging infrastructure remains limited, with charging stations and battery swapping operators frequently relying on diesel and petrol generators during outages. The government has exempted electric vehicles from value added tax and reduced import duties to zero this year from 5%, but EV adoption remains below 1% of the country's total vehicle fleet.
Growth Plans and Impact Targets
The new financing will support MAX's continued growth, including scaling deployment of electric two-wheelers from OEM partners Spiro and NOVR and expanding its solar-powered charging and battery swapping network. MAX is targeting support for 250,000 drivers by 2027 and more than US$150 million in annual recurring revenue by the same year. The company has empowered more than 60,000 Champions, facilitated over 1 billion trips, and helped avoid an estimated 238,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
Nithio's investment in MAX builds on its earlier US$7 million debt facility to Kenyan electric motorcycle company Spiro and underscores a broader conviction that Africa's climate transition will be driven by practical, scalable solutions. MAX's profitability in Nigeria demonstrates that electric mobility can be commercially viable in challenging operating environments. Whether the model can be replicated across new markets will depend on infrastructure growth, but the backing from Nithio signals confidence in the company's long-term trajectory.