Green Finance Takes a Bigger Role in Kenya’s Electric Transport Transition

Kenya’s electric transport transition is gaining a new source of momentum as green finance in Kenya moves from broad sustainability commitments into direct support for commercial fleets.

NCBA Group and BasiGo’s partnership to finance 1,000 electric vehicles places financial institutions deeper into the country’s e-mobility ecosystem, with leasing and asset finance designed to help operators acquire electric vans without carrying the full upfront cost.

The agreement comes as Kenya’s electric vehicle market continues to develop across multiple areas, from local assembly and charging infrastructure to commercial fleet adoption. While electric motorcycles have driven much of the early growth, larger electric vehicles used in public transport and business operations require significantly more capital, making financing a central part of the transition.

Kenya’s Electric Mobility Transition Needs More Than Vehicles

The growth of electric mobility in Kenya has created a new challenge: ensuring that vehicles can move from production lines and import channels into everyday commercial use. Electric vehicles require investment across the entire ecosystem, including manufacturing, charging networks, maintenance services and financing structures that match the realities of operators.

According to industry data from the Electric Mobility Association of Kenya, Kenya had more than 35,000 registered electric vehicles by the end of 2025. However, much of that growth came from electric motorcycles and other two-wheelers. Commercial electric buses, vans and passenger vehicles remain a smaller segment because their acquisition costs are much higher.

That difference explains why financial institutions have become an important part of Kenya’s clean transport conversation. For a PSV operator, school transport provider or business fleet manager, the decision to move to electric depends not only on fuel savings and operating costs but also on whether the vehicle can be acquired within a manageable financing structure.

NCBA Puts Capital Behind Commercial Electric Transport

NCBA’s partnership with BasiGo builds on the bank’s wider e-mobility financing strategy. The bank has committed KES 2 billion toward electric mobility financing and says more than KES 800 million has already been deployed into sustainable mobility assets.

Under the new arrangement, established PSV SACCOs and companies can access financing of up to 90% of the asset value over 60 months, while individual SACCO members can access up to 80% financing over 48 months. The structure also includes a discounted 1.5% processing fee.

The significance of the model is that it connects capital directly to commercial activity. Instead of financing electric vehicles as isolated purchases, the partnership targets operators who already have established routes, passenger demand and daily vehicle utilisation.

For the transport sector, that matters because commercial vehicles provide some of the strongest opportunities for electric mobility adoption. A vehicle operating several trips a day has greater potential to capture savings from reduced fuel consumption and lower maintenance requirements compared with occasional private use.

BasiGo Partnership Shows How Green Finance Reaches Operators

BasiGo has spent the past few years building the supply side of Kenya’s electric transport market through vehicle deployment, charging infrastructure and local assembly. The company has introduced electric buses into passenger operations and expanded into electric vans through its Ma3e model, which is being assembled locally with Associated Vehicle Assemblers in Mombasa.

The company has also developed the Pay-As-You-Drive financing model, which allows operators to spread payments around vehicle usage rather than relying only on traditional vehicle ownership structures. NCBA’s financing adds another option by bringing a bank-backed asset-finance and leasing structure into the same ecosystem.

The partnership is particularly relevant because BasiGo has already demonstrated demand from operators. The company has reported more than 1,200 reservations across Kenya and Rwanda, while its deployed fleet remains much smaller. Financing therefore addresses one of the practical steps between customer interest and vehicles entering daily service.

The development also reflects a wider movement in Kenya’s transport sector, where companies are looking at electric vehicles as commercial assets rather than only sustainability projects. The success of the transition will depend on whether operators can make the numbers work over the life of the vehicle.

Banks Are Building Kenya’s E-Mobility Financing Ecosystem

NCBA is not the only financial institution exploring opportunities in electric mobility. KCB Group previously partnered with BasiGo to finance electric PSV buses, showing that banks had already identified vehicle financing as one of the major barriers to adoption.

Other partnerships have also connected financial institutions with EV suppliers, charging providers and vehicle distributors. The emerging model places banks at multiple points in the value chain, from financing vehicles to supporting charging infrastructure and sustainable business investment.

This approach reflects a broader role for financial institutions in climate-related investment. Green finance is becoming a way to support assets that have both economic and environmental value, especially in sectors such as transport where emissions reduction depends on replacing existing systems rather than creating entirely new markets.

For Kenya, commercial transport provides a practical test case. Public transport operators have a direct economic incentive to reduce operating costs, while cleaner fleets can contribute to national emissions-reduction goals.

The Role of Infrastructure in Scaling Electric Transport

Financing vehicles alone cannot create a functioning electric transport market. Charging infrastructure, electricity supply, maintenance services and battery support systems must grow alongside fleet numbers.

Kenya Power has been expanding its role in EV charging infrastructure as electricity demand from electric mobility rises. The growth of charging stations and commercial charging services gives operators more confidence that electric vehicles can support regular routes beyond controlled pilot programmes.

BasiGo has also invested in charging infrastructure, with charging locations supporting its growing fleet and enabling longer-distance operations. Partnerships with energy companies, banks and transport operators are becoming necessary because electric mobility requires coordination across several industries.

The NCBA-BasiGo agreement therefore sits within a larger ecosystem that includes finance, energy, manufacturing and transport operations. Each part supports the others, and gaps in any one area can slow adoption.

Financing Alone Will Not Complete the Transition

The expansion of green finance in Kenya provides an important tool for electric mobility, but access to capital is only one part of the challenge. Vehicle prices, taxation policies, charging availability and operational costs will continue to influence how quickly operators adopt electric fleets.

Local assembly can help reduce supply challenges over time, but affordability remains a major consideration for operators comparing electric vehicles with used internal-combustion alternatives. Financing can reduce the initial burden, but the long-term business case still depends on vehicle performance, revenue generation and operating savings.

The NCBA and BasiGo partnership represents a move toward a more complete electric mobility ecosystem, where financial institutions support the transition alongside manufacturers, energy providers and transport operators.

The next measure of success will be deployment. If financing helps more operators put electric vehicles into daily service, Kenya’s clean transport ambitions will have a stronger commercial foundation.

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