Rwandan electric vehicle startup Ampersand achieves 1,000 vehicle milestone

The Rwanda-based Ampersand, an integrated electric motorcycle and transport energy solution, has reached a major milestone in its mission to provide sustainable mobility solutions in Kenya and Rwanda, with it now having more than 1,000 commercial use electric motorcycles on the roads.

Launched commercially in May 2019, Ampersand assembles and finances electric motorcycles that cost less to buy and operate, and perform better than the five million petrol motorcycle taxis in use across East Africa.

Since its commercial launch in May 2019, Ampersand’s fleet has grown to 1,000 in size, and is expected to exceed 10,000 by late 2024. 

Through Ampersand’s expanding network of 25 battery-swap stations across Kenya and Rwanda, riders can swap out depleted batteries for fully charged ones in only 2 minutes. The company works exclusively with commercial delivery and taxi motorcycle drivers, who earn 50 per cent more than with petrol bikes due to fuel and maintenance savings, all while reducing harmful carbon emissions.  

“Our team is incredibly proud of this achievement,” said Alp Tilev, co-founder and CTO of Ampersand. “Our e-motos have been embraced by the community as a reliable, climate friendly and cost-effective mode of transportation. We are ramping up local production of our battery packs to meet growing client demand for our e-motos and continuing to innovate for a more sustainable public transport option for East Africans.”