KAMPALA– Spiro , one of Africa’s largest EV players working with partners like Gnugrid CRB and Airtel Money have introduced the country’s first AI electric motorcycle market.
Under this new initiative, any body connected to Airtel will be in position to initiate the whole process of obtaining a new motorbike on loan with his/her mobile phone.
Japhet Arikho Managing Director Airtel money , who represented the Chief Guest at the launch of this partnership held at Four points Sheraton Kampala , noted that through this initiative, they expect Ugandans to become self employed through acquiring affordable motorcycles.
“This program is aimed at making our working population have access to cost friendly bikes being that they are considered among common sources of income in Uganda today. The bike costs a total of five million shillings and considering the current financial situation in the country, a few people can afford to pay it all at once.”
He therefore pointed out that , all Airtel subscribers with a good transaction record are eligible to acquire Spiro Electric Motor bike at a loan basis after an initial deposit of six hundred thousand shillings.
“In the past to acquire anything on loan like this motorcycle, some body had to deposit a car log book or land title as security, but with digital transactions, we just provide some of the records to the company as assurance that you have the capacity to pay their money within an agreed time frame.”
Kaushik Burman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Spiro , during his address , revealed that if well managed, one Spiro bike can save the owner between 1 to 2 US dollars and with in two years, the money collected can acquire a new electric bike.
“We are looking forward for more partnerships of the kind , as well as extending our bikes and services to all parts of Uganda.”
David Opio Executive Director GnuGrid CRB , the first indigenous credit reference Bureau revealed that about 22 million Ugandans still access financial services through informal means.
“We embarked on a journey to build a digital foot print , to collect conventional data from regulated space with alternative data. It’s this that gave birth to the collaboration with Airtel money. We have been able to build a digital footprint for more than 15 million subscribers within one year.”
He added that this initiative, many Ugandans will be able to access affordable bikes on credit services.
Under this new initiative, an Airtel money customer will access the motor cycle on loan via USSD Code (1858*9#) and follow prompts.
Spiro has been operational in Uganda for seven months with over 1200 electric motorcycles on the road and over 22,000 electric motorcycles across Africa.
