top of page

EWIA to equip e-mobility provider Wahu! with solar power




E-mobility is also a megatrend in Africa. EWIA has now signed a contract with Wahu! The company plans to produce 200 e-bikes per month in Ghana in the future. The sustainable and affordable mobility offered by the Wahu! bikes and the associated app will open up several job markets and give women in particular access to the emerging gig economy. The idea was originally born in Tamale in northern Ghana. Behind the company are a smart female entrepreneur and two German car managers. The Munich-based Schörghuber Group (Paulaner Bräu/Arabella Hotels) is one of the investors.

EWIA's Managing Director Timo Schäfer and Sales Director Nana Kwadwo Adu-Boateng have signed the contract with the Ghanaian e-bike manufacturer and provider Wahu Mobility: The initial plan is to install a 42 kWp system on Wahu's factory premises! Two to three further expansion stages could soon follow in order to reach 200 kWp - because Wahu! has big plans. The company wants to produce 200 e-bikes per month in Ghana's capital Accra in the future - and that requires cheap, sustainable and reliable electricity. Anything else would be out of the question for a company that enables sustainable mobility.

Wahu Mobility was launched last year by serial founder Valerie Abena Konyo Labi with the support of two well-known German car executives, namely Toni Heigl, former BMW manager, and former BMW board member Peter Schwarzenbauer. 

Wahu is a Ghanaian e-mobility company that designs, manufactures, and sells electric bicycles (eBikes). Its goal is to provide clean and high-quality load-carrying transport to a broader range of people in Ghana's delivery industry, which will help boost the development of the country's e-mobility infrastructure while providing a reliable source of income for riders.

Founder and CEO Valerie Labi, an experienced impact entrepreneur, founded Cargo Bikes Africa in 2020, which merged with MANA Mobility and later became Wahu. In Ghana, she had observed that the cost of petrol and vehicles was extremely high. “We don’t produce vehicles; we import them,” she explains. “We’re always either getting second-hand vehicles from Europe or we walk. So that became my calling: to introduce new mobility solutions for both men and women.” 

Rent-to-own and access to the gig economy 

In addition to the green mobility that Wahu! makes possible, the company - just like EWIA - is also concerned with turning its users into owners and is therefore promoting the financial independence of bike entrepreneurs with a rent-to-own program. The e-bikes cost around 2,000 US dollars to purchase, and a financial plan provides for payment in installments of 30 US dollars per week over a period of 18 to 24 months. 

 

The extremely robust Wahu! bikes are quasi cargo bikes with thick tires and reinforced front and rear suspension, which are suitable for both rural and urban terrain and offer both pedal assistance and a throttle function. They are supplied with two easily replaceable batteries, which are sufficient for a range of around 140 kilometers per day, Labi recently revealed to "BBC Focus on Africa". Tailor-made and developed by Ghanaian engineers, only the batteries are not produced locally.

The bikes also give users and future owners access to Ghana's gig economy, as they also receive orders via Wahu! The aim is to generate income for women in rural regions in particular, which is important to the founder. 

 

A dedicated app provides the drivers with information on the battery charge status, the distances covered, the CO2 emissions saved (for which the users even receive "carbon credits" and "loyalty points", which they can turn into money), etc. The app also lists local mechanics and charging options for all e-vehicles available in Ghana (not just their own) on a map.

 

Significant investment from the Schörghuber Group promotes expansion 

Blue Lion, the family office of the Munich-based Schörghuber Group 

(real estate, hotels, Paulaner), recently invested an undisclosed and considerable sum in Wahu! The capital will be used to expand production capacity, invest in research and development and expand marketing and sales. Wahu! already operates not only in Accra, but also in Togo's capital Lomé. There are also plans to expand into the Nigerian megacity of Lagos and the capital of Zambia, Lusaka.  

 

We are very much looking forward to the cooperation and are very excited about the development.

0 comments

Comments


bottom of page