Electric two-wheelers (E2Ws) are at the center of Kenya’s low-carbon transport future. Adoption is accelerating, the private sector is active, and government support is growing — including a newly-released National Electric Mobility Policy. Depending on the growth trajectory, the total E2W market could reach between $1 billion and $4.5 billion by 2035.
The market is at a tipping point and the bottleneck isn’t technology or demand; it’s capital.
Financing flows exist across the E2W value chain, but are misaligned with the market’s actual needs. Importers, assemblers, manufacturers, and consumers all face unmet financing gaps. Capital concentrates where risks are well understood and assets can be collateralized — and dries up where uncertainty around technology, integration, or policy dominates. Manufacturers struggle with working capital constraints and lopsided capital flows that don’t support deep ecosystem development. Consumers face asset costs that are too high for a price-sensitive market and lending products that weren’t designed for them.
The financing mechanisms that propelled Kenya’s E2W market thus far are unlikely to get it to the next stage. Scaling requires deliberately aligning capital structures with the operational realities of a market in transition.
This white paper, prepared and written by Intellecap and WDI, identifies specific financing gaps, issues a clear call to action, and lays out targeted recommendations to mobilize the right capital — in the right form, sequence, and cost. It also presents a four-phase implementation plan for the next eight years, moving from stabilizing the foundation and unlocking commercial capital, to derisking infrastructure investment and reaching a self-sustaining market.
The path forward requires coordinated action: shifting from pilots to platforms, from equity substitution to asset-backed debt, and from risk avoidance to risk-sharing. Kenya can dramatically scale its E2W ecosystem and build a model that other African countries can adapt.
