Electric taxi service, NopeaRide, exits Kenya

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November 29, 2022
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2 min read
Electric vehicle charging
  • Kenya-based electric taxi service, NopeaRide, is leaving the country.
  • The local subsidiary of the Finnish company EkoRent OY, EkoRent Africa, has filed for insolvency, effectively ending NopeaRide’s operations.
  • Nopearide stated that it is now collaborating with relevant authorities to ensure the termination of its operations under local legislation.

Kenya-based electric taxi service, NopeaRide, is shutting down in the country after its parent company, EkoRent OY, couldn’t raise additional funding to keep it afloat.

According to NopeaRide, EkoRent Africa, the local subsidiary of the Finnish company, has filed for insolvency, effectively ending NopeaRide’s operations.

Per TechCrunch, the company said, “We have taken our fleet of electric vehicles off the road and have notified our staff and corporate clients.” 

So, NopeaRide stated that it is now collaborating with relevant authorities to ensure the termination of its operations under local legislation.

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Juha Suojanen founded EkoRent Oy in 2014 to create solutions based on electric vehicles and solar energy, which led to the launch of NopeaRide in Kenya in 2018.

Besides, the company says it has grown from three vehicles to 70 and has built a charging network throughout Nairobi.

In 2021, NopeaRide received €200,000 ($207,433) in funding from EEP Africa, a financing facility for early-stage clean energy in Southern and East Africa, to build more solar charging hubs in Nairobi and expand its service radius in anticipation of growth.

The startup said it was on the comeback trail this year after the Covid pandemic, which caused a drop in the number of rides as people worked from home.

“In the first half of 2022, our traffic numbers grew to about the same level as before Covid-19. We also started to put more effort in the corporate segment as their employees were returning to the office and managed to sign contracts with a few big international companies, some of them potentially reserving the majority of available Nopea capacity,” it said.

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However, EkoRent OY went bankrupt in Finland and was unable to secure extra funds to grow the company in Nairobi to the next level.

“We would like to extend our deepest regret to our dedicated team of staff and drivers. We would also like to thank our loyal NopeaRide customers, corporate clients, and other partners who have supported NopeaRide’s vision for electric mobility in Africa,” it said.

She's autistic and interested in mental health and how technology can help Africans with mental disorders. Find her on Twitter @latoria_ria.
She's autistic and interested in mental health and how technology can help Africans with mental disorders. Find her on Twitter @latoria_ria.
She's autistic and interested in mental health and how technology can help Africans with mental disorders. Find her on Twitter @latoria_ria.

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