Kenya's ARC Ride Bags $10m to Scale Battery-Swapping for E-Motorcycles

3 October 2025
Daba Finance (Abidjan)

TLDR

  • Kenyan electric mobility startup ARC Ride has raised $10 million in debt financing from Paris-based sustainable investment manager Mirova to expand its battery-swapping infrastructure for motorcycles
  • ARC Ride runs a Battery-as-a-Service model that allows riders to switch to electric motorcycles and swap depleted batteries for charged ones in minutes
  • The funding will enable ARC to deploy more than 600 battery-swapping cabinets and 25,000 batteries across Kenya

Kenyan electric mobility startup ARC Ride has raised $10 million in debt financing from Paris-based sustainable investment manager Mirova to expand its battery-swapping infrastructure for motorcycles.

ARC Ride runs a Battery-as-a-Service model that allows riders to switch to electric motorcycles and swap depleted batteries for charged ones in minutes, reducing upfront vehicle costs and removing fuel and range concerns.

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The funding will enable ARC to deploy more than 600 battery-swapping cabinets and 25,000 batteries across Kenya, CEO Joseph Hurst-Croft said. The capital comes from Mirova's Gigaton Fund, marking the fund's first investment in an e-mobility company.

Mirova said the transaction applied a blended finance approach to de-risk the venture and attract future private capital. ARC Ride's model is designed to reduce carbon emissions while making electric transport more accessible and affordable in African cities.

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Key Takeaways

ARC Ride's $10 million financing reflects growing investor interest in Africa's electric mobility sector as governments and businesses seek low-carbon transport solutions. Motorcycles play a central role in urban and peri-urban mobility across Africa, but their reliance on fossil fuels increases costs and emissions. Battery-swapping networks lower barriers to adoption by tackling two key hurdles: high upfront costs of e-motorcycles and the lack of charging infrastructure. By using a BaaS model, ARC enables riders to pay for energy as needed while extending the lifespan of batteries through centralized charging. For Mirova, the deal aligns with its climate-focused strategy and demonstrates how blended finance can help de-risk early-stage investments in emerging markets. If successful, ARC's model could be replicated across other African countries, positioning battery-swapping as a cornerstone of the continent's clean transport transition and offering a scalable path to reducing emissions while boosting livelihoods for riders.

Read the original article on Daba Finance.

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