East African rural mobility and smart villages - kenya
EASVRM has developed a rural e-mobility solution to address first-and-last-mile logistics while also promoting access to modern energy for the Kisii Smart Community (“KSC”). It has done this by implementing a logistics platform to serve small scale farm producers, local offtakers, agro-processors, and retailers such as women with small street stalls selling foodstuff (Mama Mbogas) by them with a fleet of electric three-wheelers (eTrikes).
Achievements
EAVSRM has a fleet of 14 vehicles serving over 400 local beneficiaries each day. Kisii town’s economy is largely driven by the informal sector. To address this, KSC developed a logistics platform that serves producers and women vendors by providing first and last mile logistics through a fleet of electric three-wheelers. They partnered with Aceleron, a lithium-ion battery manufacturer designing the battery packs to be refurbishable and recyclable, thereby extending the life of batteries, supporting the circular economy, and promoting local content and capacity building.
As part of SOLUTIONSplus, EAVSRM the procured and provided 5 additional eTrikes to recruited local women entrepreneurs and women-led community-based organisations on a rental or lease-to-own basis. Additionally, they provide training and business support to the female drivers for them to participate in the logistics platform.
Innovation
The introduction of light electric vehicles, in combination with an USSD logistics-on-demand mobile app has the potential to improve the quality of life and livelihoods of peri-urban communities, especially women. By leveraging their solar powered battery swapping network to support the electrification of productive use appliance for post-harvest processing, the company reduces spoilage and increases access to markets.