Roam Launches Charging Network for Electric Motorcycles & Tuk-Tuks In Kenya

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Equipped with Type 6 connectors and open-charge standards, the stations are compatible with all light electric vehicles (LEVs), including two-wheelers, tuk-tuks, and light passenger cars, enabling interoperability and a scalable EV charging infrastructure. Nationwide network expansion is set for 2026, with Type 6 fast chargers to be installed.

Kenya’s electric motorcycle sector is starting to grow at a good pace now. In just over 4 years, electric motorcycles have raced to 10% market share of new motorcycle sales. The latest KNBS Leading Economic Indicators Report for August 2025 shows that for the period from January 2025 to August 2025, 97,299 motorcycles (ICE plus EV) were sold in Kenya. That means 28,495 more motorcycles were sold in the first 8 months of the year compared to the whole of 2024! This an outstanding achievement in an overall market recovering from a recent slump due to several factors, such as lower consumer purchasing power, which has reduced the daily utilization of boda bodas in Kenya, and consequently also reduced the daily unit profitability for motorcycle taxis due to higher fuel costs in recent times. Other factors include higher financing costs on top of increased sticker prices for some models. Data from KNBS shows that the market is now starting to bounce back, as fuel prices have fallen and stabilized a bit since then. The Kenyan shilling has also strengthened to “normal levels” of around 129 to the dollar, from 157 in December 2023.

With over 2.5 million ICE motorcycles in Kenya, the motorcycle sector presents a large addressable market for electrification. This has attracted a lot of attention and also investment into the sector. There are around 50 players active now in Kenya’s burgeoning electric mobility sector. Most of the efforts to electrify the motorcycle sector had focused on decoupling the battery pack from the motorcycle, and then offering riders an energy-as-a-service platform via battery swapping networks. As the battery pack has always been a significant portion of the overall costs of an electric motorcycle, decoupling this from motorcycle sales helped lower the barriers to entry for consumers. Riders could then acquire an electric motorcycle excluding the pricey battery pack, and then just pay an energy access fee; the most common model is where riders are billed for just the energy they have used whenever they return a battery to a swap station and exchange it for a fully charged one. Most riders make one or two swaps a day, and the cost per swap usually works out to be much lower than the refueling cost of an equivalent internal combustion motorcycle over the same distance travelled. Battery swapping is also convenient for riders operating in the fast paced motorcycle taxi industry. A swap over a 2-minute period is closer to the normal refuelling experience they had been accustomed to with fossil fuelled vehicles, as compared with the standard slow motorcycle charges that take about 4 to 5 hours to fully charge a motorcycle battery.

Technological advancements in battery and battery charging technology have now resulted in faster charging technology for motorcycles, enabling a more competitive charging experience for those looking for an option outside battery swapping networks. Roam, a Kenyan electric vehicle company, just launched Roam Point. Roam says this is Kenya’s first fast-charging station network for any light electric vehicles (LEVs), marking the start of a nationwide rollout of high-speed charging infrastructure. 

The Roam Point introduces a charging system that adds a range of 10–20 kilometers in under five minutes, operating on a self-service model. This service could be appealing to a lot of riders that do last-mile delivery services, typically falling within this driving range. The service enables users to charge on a self-service basis and make payments via SMS, mobile money, (M-PESA, USSD) on a mobile phone, or the Roam App, making it a real-time and accessible option 24 hours a day. Reports from local newspapers say that, during the day, riders will pay 40 Kenya shillings ($0.31) per kWh and 25 Kenya shillings ($0.19) per kWh during the off-peak night time period.

It’s great to see electric vehicle operators working to increase and diversify access to electric vehicle charging. The rapid growth in Kenya’s electric motorcycle sector has resulted in riders often facing long wait times at swapping centres, limited operating hours, and congestion at swapping and charging stations. Roam says its new Points aim to tackle these challenges by offering fast, self-service charging while also solving compatibility issues. Equipped with Type 6 connectors and open-charge standards, the station works with all light electric vehicles built to the same specifications, giving riders a reliable, universal charging option.

“These Roam Points are the first credible solution to scaling up the use of electric vehicles across Kenya through the adoption of common standards, international certification, and interoperability,” Habib Lukaya, Roam’s Country Manager, said. “The Roam Point builds on the battery ownership model, which gives riders full control of their batteries, allowing them to ‘ride everywhere and charge anywhere’. It adds flexibility to how riders stay charged. Whether it’s home charging, hub rental, or fast charging on the go, we want to empower our riders with the choice that fits their needs.” 

So, charging networks for Kenya’s motorcycle sector could take off now, after the sector has been dominated by capital intensive battery swapping networks. These charging networks for motorcycles are quite common in India. In Rwanda, Safiride has a charging network for motorcycles, and in Kenya, one of the newest companies to join Kenya’s growing mobility sector, ZENO, also has a charging network. 

We have been covering the developments in Kenya’s electric vehicle sector for over 7 years now — from the early days of a few startups converting one or two internal combustion engine motorcycles in small warehouses as mentioned earlier, to seeing the sector grow to almost 50 players in the industry. All of this growth has been driven by locally based companies iterating to address real pain points of riders in Kenya. It’s great to see more progress in the form of these faster charging stations, which will hopefully address one of the key concerns in an industry with multiple players, interoperability. We are going to do a deep dive into interoperability issues in the upcoming series.

Images courtesy of Roam