Spiro raises $215 million for African EV expansion | Pune Tech Center to support growth

African EV platform Spiro has raised $215 million in an investment round backed by major institutional investors, including Impact Fund Denmark and Equitane, to support the expansion of its EV and battery-swapping infrastructure across African markets.

The company said the funding will be used to expand its battery-swapping network, increase manufacturing and assembly capacity, support technology development, and facilitate entry into additional African markets. Spiro’s Global Technology and Engineering Center in Pune will contribute to research and development, software engineering, and data analytics activities related to the expansion.

Founded by Indian entrepreneur Gagan Gupta under the Equitane Group, Spiro currently operates more than 100,000 electric motorcycles and approximately 2,500 battery-swapping stations across Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon.

The company stated that the expansion comes amid increasing demand for transportation services in African cities, rising fuel costs, and growing interest in electric mobility solutions. Spiro said riders using its electric motorcycles can reduce daily operating costs compared to conventional motorcycles.

Spiro said it plans to expand operations into additional markets, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia. Its manufacturing operations include facilities in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, as well as a battery recycling facility in Nigeria.

The company said its technology platform is supported by a team of more than 150 engineers based at its Pune technology center and is backed by over 30 patents. Spiro is also developing technologies such as IoT-enabled battery-swapping stations, solar-powered charging infrastructure, and second-life battery storage applications.

According to the company, a third-party lifecycle assessment conducted on its operations in Kenya found that its electric motorcycles resulted in a 72% reduction in climate impact compared to fossil-fuel motorcycles, equivalent to about 19 tonnes of CO₂ emissions avoided over a vehicle’s lifespan. The assessment also reported reductions in ozone depletion potential and particulate matter emissions.

Commenting on the development, Gagan Gupta, Founder of Spiro and Chairman of Equitane, said “This past year marked a defining strategic milestone for Spiro. Across seven active markets, our deployment of 100,000 electric vehicles and 2,500 smart-swap stations has turned sustainable mobility into an affordable, everyday reality. Spiro has become a major driver of local industrialization, value creation and manufacturing across African markets with 6,000 sustainable direct and indirect jobs. Supported by our global pool of investors, we are entering our next growth chapter to deliver clean, cost-effective energy and transport alternatives to millions of riders across the continent.”

Lars Bo Bertram, CEO of Impact Fund Denmark, said “We are investing in Spiro and bringing Danish pension capital into one of Africa’s most promising growth markets because we see potential for significant commercial growth in Spiro and electric mobility across Africa, as well as measurable climate impact. That is exactly the type of investment we want to make.”

Spiro reports that it has completed more than 30 million battery swaps through its network and facilitated over one billion kilometers of travel using electric vehicles.

Also read: Spiro raises $50 million in debt funding