As Africa prepares for events like the Smarter Mobility Africa (SMA) 2025 Summit, it’s critical that sustainable transport dialogues drive inclusive, practical change, rather than becoming echo chambers where Afrocentric innovation can sometimes get overlooked.
Too often, e-mobility is boxed into climate or sustainability silos. For broader buy-in, reframe it as an economic opportunity—job creation, local manufacturing, urban mobility, cost-of-living relief, energy resilience, and regional competitiveness.
Ethiopia’s local assembly of Chinese EVs, and Kenya’s BasiGo project, both show how e-mobility can be positioned as a pillar of national industrial policy, not just environmental action. This framing invites greater investment and political support among regular citizens who are less environmentally conscious.
Effective dialogue must reflect the diversity of those impacted. This includes public transport unions, informal operators, fintechs, women’s mobility groups, youth innovators, utilities, and policymakers.
Consider accessibility—offer translation, hybrid formats, and travel support. Ghana’s Wahu Mobility, for example, engages directly with delivery riders, including women, using their feedback to inform product design and business strategy. True inclusion ensures local voices are heard and reflected in outcomes.
Africa’s e-mobility scale-up depends on public-private cooperation. Conferences should bring together regulators, fleet operators, energy providers, and startups to co-design practical solutions.
Could fleet operators and utilities own and operate charging hubs together? Might mobile money platforms enable lease-to-own EV financing? Rwanda’s Ampersand, which partners with local banks and utilities, is an example of how structural barriers can be tackled collaboratively.
Fear, uncertainty, and doubt around EVs are nothing new—range, cost, safety—they still shape public perception. Media must be equipped with locally relevant facts, milestone stories, and concise kits with clear facts and metrics. WAGA Motion, in Tanzania, is setting an example by using social media to build confidence and awareness around EVs in the country and carrying e-mobility stories into the limelight.
Data informs decisions, but people inspire change. Highlight local champions—like delivery riders, female fleet managers, or respected researchers—whose stories bring the transition to life. Figures like Valerie Labi of Wahu Mobility show how credible local leadership can inspire both investor and consumer confidence. Guest appearances on social media content or podcasts can provide growing exposure and a platform to millions.
Likewise, key figures from popular culture can be vital in dispensing messages to local people as ambassadors. For example, world-famous Nigerian Afrobeats musician, Davido, has recently formed a partnership with Spiro to promote sustainable transport across Africa, combining clean energy innovation with cultural influence to bring awareness to the masses.
As e-mobility dialogue platforms like SMA 2025 grow, it is crucial that their influence continues to translate into action. The most effective dialogues blend diverse voices, economic framing, and practical collaboration. Media and communicators must shape not just the story, but the strategy – because how we talk about e-mobility will help determine how fast it scales in Africa.
Reference List
https://www.launchafrica.vc/news/wahu-mobility-is-driving-sustainable-jobs
https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/national/tanzanian-techpreneur-sets-up-ev-charging-points-in-pilot-project-4883894
https://cleantechnica.com/2025/05/16/afrobeats-superstar-davido-spiro-collaborate-to-launch-new-range-of-electric-motorcycles-for-africa/
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