Kenya's electric mobility drive has received a significant boost after NCBA Group, a banking group, partnered with BasiGo, a Nairobi-based electric mobility company, to finance 1,000 electric vehicles, giving public transport operators, businesses, and institutions the option to buy or lease electric vans. The deal also makes NCBA BasiGo's first local investor.

The financing will be provided through asset finance and leasing, with BasiGo using the arrangement to scale vehicle deployment to public service vehicle (PSV) Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs), established transport operators, and individual operators.

The partnership forms part of wider efforts to cut emissions from Kenya's transport sector, where road transport accounts for more than 40% of the country's total energy consumption and is its fastest-growing source of emissions. Kenya also spends over $5 billion annually on fuel imports, leaving its transport system exposed to volatile global fuel prices — a combination that has created the opportunity for electric mobility. Most of Kenya's electricity, by contrast, is generated from renewable sources — including geothermal, hydro, and wind — so vehicles that shift from imported fuel to the grid draw on a largely clean power supply.

Kenya's EV market has grown rapidly in recent years. According to the government, the number of registered electric vehicles rose from 1,378 in 2022 to 39,324 in 2025. The Ministry of Roads and Transport says the growth has been supported by lower-priced EVs and financing options tailored to the sector.

"The transition to electric mobility is not simply about putting more electric vehicles on the road; it is about creating the financing and infrastructure needed to make them commercially viable at scale," said Lennox Mugambi, Group Director, Asset Finance and Business Solutions at NCBA Group.

"By financing BasiGo's electric vehicles, we are helping bridge this gap by connecting capital to clean mobility solutions and making sustainable assets more accessible to operators. Through this approach, we are supporting the wider electric mobility ecosystem and helping accelerate Kenya's shift towards cleaner, more sustainable public transport," Mugambi added.

Founded in 2021, BasiGo first put pilot electric buses on Nairobi routes in 2022 and has since expanded its operations to Rwanda. The partnership is another step towards BasiGo's target of putting 1,000 electric buses on Kenya's roads by 2027. At the time, the company had assembled 53 buses locally, with another 27 in production at its Thika assembly line, where it planned to increase output to 20 buses per month in 2026.

Kenya's public transport system relies on informal matatus and other public service vehicles, which carry most passenger trips in the country's cities. Some of these operators are organised into professional SACCOs — financial cooperatives that enable members to pool savings and access credit.

Under the partnership, existing PSV SACCOs and established PSV companies could access financing of up to 90% of an electric vehicle's value over 60 months. Individual SACCO members could access up to 80% over 48 months, while both groups would be eligible to pay a discounted processing fee of 1.5%.

NCBA and BasiGo will also offer financing through BasiGo's Pay-As-You-Drive model, which is designed to lower the upfront cost of switching to an electric vehicle. Electric buses and vans typically carry higher purchase prices than comparable diesel models, which is why financing structures have become the main route to adoption for many operators. The model allows operators to pay for the vehicle as they use it, while BasiGo provides charging and maintenance services.

"The most critical challenge in scaling electric vehicles in Africa is financing," said Jit Bhattacharya, chief executive and co-founder of BasiGo. "We are proud to partner with NCBA to address this problem head-on for operators through affordable and creative financing solutions. Through this partnership, Kenyan PSV operators now have multiple financing options, from asset finance to leasing, to add a BasiGo electric vehicle to their fleet. With NCBA supporting BasiGo and our customers, we are excited to unlock the next level of scale for clean, electric public transport in Kenya."

Kenya is also increasing efforts to support the transition to electric vehicles. In February 2026, the government launched its National Electric Mobility Policy, which covers all modes of transport and provides a framework for EV adoption. The policy is backed by incentives introduced through the Finance Bill 2025, including zero-rated value-added tax (VAT) on electric buses, motorcycles, bicycles, and lithium-ion batteries. This puts Kenya alongside other African countries, including Rwanda and South Africa, that are using policy and financial incentives to accelerate EV adoption.

The partnership also comes as NCBA prepares for a potentially bigger change of its own. In January, South African banking group Nedbank revealed plans to acquire approximately 66% of NCBA Group. If the transaction is completed, NCBA will become a Nedbank subsidiary.