- The factory situated in Nairobi would produce 50,000 e-motorcycles annually.
- The “Roam Air” machines will rely on green energy to power the batteries.
Roam Motors, a mobility start-up, has opened a new factory in Nairobi, Kenya (the largest in East Africa), to produce 50,000 electric motorcycles annually to develop sustainable transport in the country. These machines, called “Roam Air”, feature a dual battery system that can reach speeds of 90 km/hour and carry a load of 220 kilograms.
In 2022, Roam announced they would market the machines in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is part of an agreement with American mobility giant, Uber.
In addition to production, the electric motorcycles will accelerate the conversion of the thousands of “boda boda” (petrol-powered motorcycle taxis) currently circulating in the Kenyan capital to electric power, thereby reducing the atmospheric pollution they generate. During the inauguration ceremony for the new plant, the President of Kenya, William Ruto, stated that the initiative fits Kenya’s national objectives of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and its potential to lead clean transport solutions on the continent.