Zimbabwe Steps Into the Electric Corridor
concluding 5000 km fully electric from Kigali, Rwanda to Beira, Mozambique
The questions started early at a busy fuel station in Chimoio. People wanted to know whether the vehicles were really fully electric, how far they could travel and where we were finding power along the route.
By then, the Road to Africa convoy had crossed several countries. The electric truck and pickup had travelled through East and Southern Africa without a public charging network to rely on. The next day, when we reached Beira, the journey passed 5,000 kilometres.
Mozambique brought us to one of the most important points on the route: a port city connecting the Indian Ocean with the economies of Southern Africa.
EDM kept the journey moving
Our first collaboration in Mozambique was with Electricidade de Moçambique in Chimoio. EDM’s team helped us charge the vehicles and later supported the convoy as it continued through the country.
Mr. P’lacido coordinated across the EDM network, connecting us with teams along the route and making sure we could continue towards Tete and the border with Malawi.
The experience showed how central EDM will be to Mozambique’s electric mobility transition.
EDM is also expanding the electricity network rapidly. In 2024, it added more than 412,000 new connections, bringing national electricity access to 61 percent. Mozambique’s electricity access rate has almost doubled since 2018. Electricidade de Moçambique, World Bank
The network being extended to homes, schools and businesses can increasingly support transport as well. The question is where to begin.
Beira connects the region
Beira offers a clear answer.
The city sits at the meeting point of road, rail and maritime trade. Its port serves Mozambique and several landlocked countries across the region. The 318-kilometre Machipanda railway connects Beira with Zimbabwe, while the 357-kilometre Sena line extends towards Malawi through the Zambezi Valley. CFM Machipanda Line, CFM Sena Line
On the road from Chimoio, the number of trucks makes the importance of the corridor immediately visible. During our visit, queues at fuel stations also showed how exposed road transport remains when fuel supplies are disrupted.
Charging infrastructure around Beira would serve a city already shaped by regional movement. Over time, it could support passenger vehicles, buses, motorcycles, commercial fleets and freight travelling between the port and neighbouring countries.
For Road to Africa, this is the wider purpose of the expedition. We are documenting where transport, energy and trade already meet, and where relatively focused infrastructure investments could help connect them.
Two hundred students and no shortage of questions
Beira became our largest awareness stop of the journey so far.
We were welcomed by Adelino and Aniza Faquira from the GIZ-PEPE programme, which promotes professional education and employment. Together with GIZ Mozambique, the Instituto Industrial e Comercial de Beira and Young Africa Mozambique, we hosted the Mozambique Electric Mobility Ecosystem Training Session.
Around 200 students studying electricity and mechanics joined the session. They wanted to understand the vehicles, but they were equally interested in the industry forming around them.
How do the batteries work? How far can the truck travel? How long does it take to charge? What opportunities could this create in Mozambique?
In the accompanying video, one student speaks about reducing Mozambique’s dependence on fuel. Another describes electric mobility as a development opportunity for the country. Their responses were direct, practical and closely connected to what they were already studying.
Electric mobility will need technicians who can install chargers, maintain vehicles, diagnose batteries and manage increasingly digital transport systems. Mozambique’s future electricians and mechanics are already in the classroom.
The country is investing in this technical capacity. In April 2026, EDM and the French Development Agency opened modernised training centres in Maputo and Chimoio, with the capacity to train around 2,000 technicians annually through 17 operational courses. Electricidade de Moçambique
The interest we saw in Beira suggests that young Mozambicans are ready to take part. Training programmes now have an opportunity to connect electrical and mechanical education with the skills the emerging mobility sector will require.
Beira wants to be part of the transition
Before departing, we paid a courtesy visit to the Mayor of Beira, Mr. Albano Carige.
The Mayor shared Beira’s ambition to participate in Africa’s growing electric mobility sector. Seeing an electric truck that had reached the city after more than 5,000 kilometres made the discussion immediately practical.
His excitement about e-mobility and what’s yet to come was noticeable. We were happy to have ignited something, And we would be happy to come back to Beira when they open the charging station or electrify their first bus route in very near future.
It has been a powerful journey to drive the 2 Kabisa vehicles across Southern Africa
