Inside the Road to Lusaka Kickoff Webinar
Takeaways from the Nordic Africa EV Summit Kickoff Webinar
The first official webinar of the Nordic Africa EV Summit brought together policymakers, fleet operators, charging developers, and industry leaders from across Africa and the Nordic region for a single question: how far has Africa’s electric mobility transition actually come, and what does it need next?
The answer, from every corner of the conversation, was consistent. The transition is already commercial, already scaling, and the window for partnership is open now.
A market built from the ground up
Electric buses are the fastest-growing vehicle segment on the continent, expanding at roughly 44% year on year. Nine out of ten e-mobility brands operating in Africa today did not exist a decade ago. These numbers, shared by Warren Odanje of the Africa E-Mobility Alliance (AfEMA), paint a picture of an entirely new market taking shape across the continent.
The economics are driving it. Africa is a net importer of fossil fuels, and for high-utilisation vehicles like buses, motorcycles, and logistics fleets, the total cost of ownership for electric is already lower than diesel. Moses Nderitu of BasiGo, which operates electric bus fleets in Kenya and Rwanda, put it simply: every bus they assemble already has a paying customer waiting. Demand outstrips supply. The remaining constraint is charging infrastructure.
Odanje’s message to Nordic and international partners was direct: Africa is ready for partnership and investment. Countries are beginning to retain value domestically. Zambia recently banned the export of unrefined lithium. The opportunity lies in co-building the ecosystem together.
Ethiopia is setting the pace
State Minister Bareo Hassen of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Transport and Logistics opened the webinar with an account of his country’s commitment. Ethiopia banned the import of fossil fuel vehicles in 2024. Since then, the government has financed 396 electric buses nationwide, with 110 already running in Addis Ababa and a further 400 to be deployed before Ethiopia hosts COP32 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) in 2027.
Ethiopia’s advantage is energy. More than 90% of the country’s electricity comes from renewable sources, primarily hydropower. Electrifying transport doubles as an energy security strategy, reducing dependence on imported fuel. The State Minister invited Nordic partners into active collaboration on charging infrastructure, grid integration, fleet solutions, and the policy frameworks to hold it all together.
What it looks like on the ground
The panel discussion, moderated by Alex Munene of the Advanced Mobility Centre in Nairobi, brought the perspective down to street level. In Addis Ababa, Hosaena Akilu Samuel of Eazy Power described how zero import duty on EV chargers has accelerated charging network deployment, even as financing and grid capacity remain works in progress. In Kenya and Rwanda, BasiGo’s electric bus operations are proving that the economics work at scale, with intercity routes now emerging as the next growth frontier.
From the Nordic side, the message was refreshingly honest. Frode Kjos, a Norwegian e-mobility expert, pointed out that even at 97% EV market share for new car sales, Norway still faces unresolved questions around grid load and universal charging access. The real value of Nordic partnership, he argued, lies in sharing what worked and what went wrong. One of Norway’s most transferable lessons is standardization – and I know that sounds boring, but it’s the foundation everything else is built on. Charging infrastructure and grid compatibility has developed from different approaches to a standarized solution benefitting all parties. We still have work to do when discussing payment systems where we after 15 years still need multiple apps and few fully understands the pricing. That’s what happens without standardization.” Bent Vistisen, a Danish charging developer now operating in Kenya, reinforced the point: interoperability and universal access should be designed in from the start, rather than retrofitted later as Europe had to do.
Hiten Parmar of The Electric Mission in South Africa called for genuine co-creation, pointing to the Clean Trade Investment Partnership between Europe and South Africa as a model worth expanding across the continent. The head of Mobility Eng. Eric Ntagengerwa (Msc, CIPM) at The African Union Comission echoed this with a continental lens, identifying two immediate priorities: accelerate local manufacturing and assembly of electric vehicles within Africa, and invest in consumer awareness and human capital.
What comes next
The Nordic Africa EV Summit convenes in Oslo from 4 to 7 May 2026, hosted within the Nordic EV Summit. The programme brings 30 to 50 African decision-makers together with the wider Nordic EV ecosystem through a closed working session, a curated industry tour of Norway’s charging and fleet infrastructure, Africa-focused sessions on the main stage, and structured matchmaking across four pillars: unconstrained charging, heavy-duty electrification, policy enablers, and grid readiness.
A second edition follows in Addis Ababa in September, bringing approximately 100 Nordic stakeholders to the continent, followed by a fully electric expedition from Addis Ababa to Nairobi retracing the Road to Addis route one year on.
Registration is open at www.nordicafricaevs.com
