Rolling Into Addis: A Convoy of Hope and Electric Momentum – Adama to Addis Ababa
Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa & Eazy Power PLC
When Addis Ababa speaks about sustainability today, the conversation goes beyond buildings, water use, or recycling. In the capital, sustainability increasingly has wheels. Electric mobility has quietly become part of daily life, from the growing fleet of EV’s on the roads to the rise of local innovators shaping the future of transport.
One visible signal of this change sits inside the Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa, where hospitality and clean energy now share the same driveway. The hotel has taken a deliberate step into the green transition by partnering with Eazy Power PLC, Ethiopia’s first privately licensed charging operator.
For Hyatt, the move was practical. “We wanted to offer additional services,” says Managing Director Otto Kurzendorfer. “People come here to train, to dine, to relax, or to stay, and EV drivers should be able to do the same while their vehicles charge reliably.”
Eazy Power helped design the charging concept and installed four fast-charging stations on the premises. The chargers are powered, maintained, and managed by Eazy Power, which holds the country’s first private license from the Petroleum and Energy Authority. The partnership allows Hyatt guests – from business travelers to gym members – to plug in their vehicles while going about their day, in the same way EV drivers do in more mature markets.
This collaboration, however, extends far beyond a hotel parking lot. Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa and Eazy Power were also official partners of Road to Addis, the first fully electric cross-border expedition from Nairobi to Addis Ababa. Their support strengthened the initiative’s visibility in Ethiopia and helped anchor EV infrastructure and hospitality within the national conversation on clean mobility.
Behind these efforts is a larger story about what Ethiopia is becoming. Industrialization is accelerating. New transport corridors are being built. Riverside redevelopment projects are rising across the capital. And in each of these spaces, EV infrastructure is now part of the national blueprint.
Hosaena A. Samuel, CEO of Eazy Power, has been central to this shift. “Our goal is simple: scale charging across the country, one charger at a time,” she says. The company’s work is not limited to installations. It is shaping policy, working with regions, unlocking land access, and building the ecosystem needed for EV adoption to grow.
Her commitment became visible on a continental stage during Road to Addis, a 1,600-kilometer journey that tested vehicles, people, and infrastructure across some of East Africa’s most demanding terrain. Hosaena joined the expedition as a believer. “This was a historic movement,” she reflects. “Driving all the way from Nairobi to Addis Ababa fully electric, it had never been done before.”
For Kurzendorfer, the experience opened an unexpected door. It showed what electric mobility could look like beyond hotel chargers. It hinted at a future where everyday EV owners might one day join similar convoys, turning the journey itself into a shared story of innovation. “If we can open this to a wider audience next year,” he says, “I think it could become a fantastic idea. Imagine ordinary people driving their own EV’s across borders.”
The partnership between Hyatt Regency and Eazy Power is a grounded step, one that quietly signals a shift in a country’s trajectory. A luxury hotel offering fast charging. A local operator scaling infrastructure one station at a time. Two institutions supporting a historic electric road trip. And the recognition that the future of mobility in Ethiopia will be built not in theory, but in the everyday choices made on the ground.
About the Road to Addis Electric Roadtrip:
Road to Addis is an initiative by Media space Intro Africa and storytelling agency Thought Leader Africa
Platinum partner powering the Road to Addis: Munja Energy
The convoy consisted of a vehicles from Kabisa, Spiro, Roam and KPLC
Main partners are: Africa E-Mobility Alliance, Africa E-Mobility Week, Ethiopian Ministry of Road and Logistics, Kenyan Ministry of Road and Transport, – a great collaboration and facilitation og power from sub stations along the route from KPLC – Kenya Power and Ethiopian Electricity Utility without this key involvement this would have been an almost impossible task, Kabisa, Spiro, Kuehne Foundation, Norwegian Embassy Addis, Norwegian Embassy Nairobi, Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa
Supporting partners are: Eazy Power PLC, Ethiopian Petroleum and Energy Authority, Nice innovation incubation centre, Taxime, Dodai, Lion Green Solutions, Zijazo, Basigo, Roam Electric, UNEP, House of Procurement, Advanced Mobility Centre, E-Cars Society of East Africa, Ampersand , Ethiopian Energy Utility EEU, Petroleum & Energy Authority
The Road to Addis bridges this gap. By linking Nairobi and Addis Ababa through a shared corridor, the journey demonstrates how clean transport can extend beyond capitals into the heart of cross-border trade routes. At every stop, whether in towns, counties, or universities, the mission will spotlight the economic, environmental, and social benefits of greening transport.
Through awareness campaigns, dialogues with local governments, and direct community engagement, the Road to Addis shows that sustainable transport is a tangible opportunity. For communities along the route, it means resilience, new markets, and inclusion in a greener future of trade and mobility.
