Yuma Sasaki, a Japanese entrepreneur who founded Dodai, an electric motorcycle start-up, is now the one who has contributed to the transformation of the EV market in Ethiopia.
The company has achieved great success in a short period of time, despite some obstacles, and today it has sold 850 units in only the first year of its activity.
Ethiopia, where access to electricity is still limited, is a special market with its own set of problems for the wider EV adoption.
Still, Dodai electric motorcycles, which are powered by batteries, are just the thing for businesses, and one particular industry that is benefiting from this is the delivery sector.
The fact that these bikes cover a distance of up to 150 kilometers in a single charge only amplifies the galore for the companies who are opting to go green in their attempts to reduce the fuel and maintenance costs.
Overcoming Challenges in a Complex Market
One of Dodai’s greatest strengths is its lithium-ion battery technology that is better than the lead-acid batteries that some of its competitors use.
Moreover, Dodai has worked on Ethiopia’s famous slow motorcycle registration by partnering with Beatrix, a GPS provider who facilitates the vehicle and licensing process.
This has provided a competitive advantage to Dodai hence their clients who use its services enjoying faster license plate acquisition process than those of their competitors.
Despite these improvements, regulatory delays and customs bottlenecks continue to pose challenges. Sasaki estimated that Dodai could have actually rolled out over 5,000 motorcycles instead of the current 850 if the company was in a more stable environment.
Furthermore, access to financing remains limited, affecting the ability of independent riders to buy electric-bikes for their delivery job.
A Bold Bet on Battery Swapping
Dodai, in an effort to speed up growth, is modeling a battery-swapping concept which will allow riders to swap their empty batteries for a fully charged one in a matter of minutes.
This method, which has already gained acceptance in countries such as Rwanda and Benin, brings the cost of e-motorbikes down, thus being more available to people.
The company intends to introduce 100 battery-swapping stations in Ethiopia by the end of the year 2025.
Though it was the initial plan to partner with Ethiopia Investment Holdings, the project is now being independently pursued following the withdrawal of the sovereign wealth fund. However, Sasaki still keeps his hope in the project success alive.
“By using this system, we immediately become scalable in the environment lacking significant charging infrastructure,” He said.
“For a great majority of riders in particular the gig workers, battery swapping is a more practical solution.”
Securing Investment for Expansion
Dodai has attracted a total of $7 million in the form of Japanese capital from the companies, Nissei, and Musahi Seimitsu Industry and seeks to get another $10 million to help support its expansion plans.
Japanese investors who are known for their long-term outlook are the most feasible parties that are possibly going to navigate African countries through the regulatory or economic landscape according to Sasaki.
Dodai is thus riding both the fixed battery and a battery-changing model as the company expands. While the delivery business is supposed to embrace battery swapping, the commuters may opt for the fixed-battery bikes.
“The idea behind this is that we want to be flexible.” Sasaki stated.
“As a result, we hope to embrace our electric mobility in Ethiopia and through this stay on top of the competition”.