Spiro is an African electric mobility company focused on replacing petrol motorcycles with affordable electric alternatives supported by large scale battery swapping infrastructure. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, the company targets commercial riders such as boda boda operators and last mile delivery workers, positioning its solution as both an income tool and a climate tool. Spiro operates in multiple African markets and frames its mission around cutting emissions, reducing fuel dependence, and improving livelihoods through clean transport access.
Scaling Clean Mobility in Africa
The company describes its mission as accelerating the large scale electrification of mobility across the continent while creating economic opportunity for riders. Spiro says it aims to offer transportation that is sustainable, reliable, and cheaper to operate than internal combustion motorbikes, which dominate informal transport in African cities. It links this mission to job creation through local assembly, training, and entrepreneurship support, arguing that the shift to electric mobility can be a development strategy and not just an environmental strategy.
Offering and Technology Stack
Spiro builds and deploys electric motorbikes designed for commercial use, and it couples the vehicle with a battery swapping model so riders can exchange depleted batteries for charged ones in minutes instead of waiting to charge. The platform also includes fast charging and overnight charging options, rider financing to cut upfront costs, and partnerships that allow operators to pay through structured asset finance instead of cash purchase. The company has added a software layer that covers fleet and energy management, route optimization, and even a ride hailing product called CatchMoto, supported by its in house technical academy that trains local technicians.
Market Footprint and Operations
The company launched operations in Togo and Benin in 2022 and has since expanded to at least six countries, including Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. Nairobi has become a core hub for assembly, battery work, and training, and Spiro positions Kenya as a manufacturing and talent base for East and West Africa. Spiro has publicly stated that it is targeting more than 100,000 electric motorbikes on African roads by the end of 2025 and 2 million electric two wheelers in circulation by 2030, supported by thousands of swap stations.
Funding and Investors
Spiro is backed by institutional capital and strategic financiers that view electrified two wheel transport in Africa as both an infrastructure play and an energy transition play. The company has disclosed over $280 million in total funding across four rounds, including a $100 million Series D round in October 2025, which it describes as the largest investment to date in African e-mobility. Key investors include Equitane Group, which incubated the business at inception, the Fund for Export Development in Africa, Afreximbank, Société Générale, and the new capital is intended to scale battery production, expand swap infrastructure, and accelerate mass deployment of more than 100,000 electric motorcycles.
Leadership
Spiro was founded by Gagan Gupta, an investor active in African industrial development and infrastructure who also leads Equitane. The company is led by Chief Executive Officer Kaushik Burman, who is focused on scaling the network, deepening market penetration, and building long-term energy and mobility infrastructure at the city level. The executive team also includes Chief Technology Officer Yogesh Dipankar, who oversees software, cybersecurity, telematics, AI data monetization, and platform architecture across hubs in India and Africa, and Chief Human Resources Officer Shuvai Madanhire, who drives talent strategy, workforce development, and pan African leadership capacity.
Spiro positions itself as more than an e bike seller and instead as a vertically integrated mobility infrastructure company that links manufacturing, financing, energy, software, and labor development into one platform. The company argues that this integration is what will allow it to scale from thousands of units in a few countries to hundreds of thousands of units across the continent, while maintaining uptime and affordability for riders who depend on transport income. With active operations in multiple African markets, a maturing leadership bench, and fresh late stage capital, Spiro is pushing to define how electric transport will be financed, powered, and owned in African cities over the next decade.