French development finance company Proparco has announced the completion of an investment in BasiGo.
The investment forms part of the AFD Group’s initiative to deliver low-carbon urban mobility, with the Group having pledged to commit roughly 1 billion EUR per year to both transport and mobility worldwide.
With Proparco’s investment; BasiGo will be enabled to scale mass public transport across African cities whilst reducing overall emissions with the introduction of electric buses.
Currently, Proparco supports private operators in cities such as Dakar and Bogotá, helping companies to scale electric bus systems and make public transport more sustainable, affordable and inclusive.
Jean Guyonnet-Dupérat, Regional Director for East Africa at Proparco, said:By supporting BasiGo, we are helping to unlock a new generation of clean, reliable mass public transport solutions for tens of thousands of passengers in Kenya and Rwanda, and to scale this solution in other African cities.
BasiGo’s locally assembled electric buses cut emissions, improve air quality, and support quality jobs—fully consistent with Proparco’s mandate on the continent, the Choose Africa initiative, and our commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Jit Bhattacharya, CEO and Co-Founder of BasiGo, said:Proparco’s investment is a powerful endorsement of the future we are building for African cities. Since 2021, BasiGo has proven that electric buses deliver stronger economics for operators while avoiding CO₂ emissions and delivering a comfortable experience for passengers. It is a strong validation of our model and a catalyst for the next phase of growth: scaling local assembly, expanding our charging network, and accelerating our Road to 1000 electric buses.
