Kayoora Bus: A landmark EV initiative for Africa's tech future

As year 2025 is drawing to an end, many in the technology sector are taking stock to examine if their efforts have been worthwhile and impactful. In a year that has been dominated by artificial intelligence it has been difficult to identify a technology product, initiative that is worth celebrating in the African continent.

Enter the first electric bus that is made in Uganda, Kayoora Bus, which travelled from Uganda to Cape Town, 13 000km in 13 countries within 20 days, to showcase innovation, then you realise that there’s finally something genuinely worth celebrating. Here’s why.

The African continent has never produced a commercial automotive product that reached the market with success. The existence of an African produced electric bus is alone something worth celebrating even though it has been in existence for some years. The product, however, has not gained mainstream adoption across the continent. The innovation tour from Uganda to Cape Town is worth celebrating mainly due to its mission of getting the entire African continent to rally behind an EV bus that is made locally.

One executive from Kiira Motors explained the significance of the trip by highlighting that the EV bus presents an opportunity for Africans to contribute to the value chain of this African transport innovation. He indicated that each country in the continent has an opportunity to develop at least one product item for the 70 000 parts that make up the EV bus.

This EV is one of many if not the only technology product that could enable the realisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area dream. One country can produce tyres, another windows, and some can even contribute to the technology that can be used in the bus. The EV bus tour presents an investment opportunity that has never been seen before within the continent.

Many may still wonder, why should we consider an EV bus tour a Technology Initiative of the Year 2025. Truth be told, the African continent has been left behind in the AI race. This has been the case for many other technologies. The EV bus opportunity, if embraced by African countries, can serve as a platform for innovation in the African continent. It can become a catalyst for African AI particularly in the transport sector.

For the first time, a product can enable young people to develop skills in a product of the future. The EV bus presents an open canvas to imagine a future of transport in the African continent with a product that is custom designed for African conditions. Finally, 2025 has also shown that there’s a shift in global trade as some powerful nations squeeze every opportunity to their advantage and also closing taps that were always there to enable development. The African continent has no choice but to develop its own products and use them to its advantage.

If there was a search for such a product, the EV Bus tour from Uganda to Cape Town tour has presented it to13 countries. Now the ball is in their court to begin a process of collaborating with Kiiara Motors and mass produce an EV bus for the African continent and the world.

Wesley Diphoko is a technology analyst and the Editor-In-Chief of Fast Company(SA) magazine.

*** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or IOL.

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