Indian Entrepreneur Gagan Gupta's African EV platform Spiro Raises USD 215M; Pune Tech Center to Drive Continental Scale

ANI
02 Jun 2026, 15:01 GMT+10

NewsVoir

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], June 2: Spiro announces a USD 215 million investment round to accelerate the deployment of its electric mobility and battery-swapping infrastructure across Africa. Building on the support of long-standing institutional partners such as FEDA, Spiro's latest equity round draws global capital from Europe and Africa, confirming growing global confidence in scalable infrastructure-led business models across emerging markets.

Following years of optimization across its product portfolio, technology and energy ecosystem, Spiro has moved past the proof-of-concept phase and stands ready to execute its next chapter of pan-African expansion. The investment will support the expansion of Spiro's battery-swapping network, strengthen its industrial and assembly footprint, accelerate technology development and support the company's entry into new high-growth African markets, fully anchored by the technological and engineering innovation coming out of its Global Technology and Engineering Center in Pune, India.

Founded by visionary Indian entrepreneur Gagan Gupta (under the Equitane Group), Spiro has grown exponentially to become the largest e-mobility player in Africa. The company currently operates over 100,000 electric motorcycles and a massive network of 2,500 automated battery-swapping stations across seven key markets including Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon.

Global investors back Africa's fast-growing mobility and energy transition

As Africa's urban population and mobility needs continue to surge, electric vehicles and battery-swapping ecosystems are rapidly emerging as one of the continent's most promising infrastructure and energy investment opportunities.

Reducing dependence on imported fuel, strengthening energy and industrial sovereignty and modernizing urban transport systems are becoming strategic priorities across the continent, positioning EV infrastructure as a key pillar of Africa's economic resilience and industrial development.

Driven by rising fuel costs, increasing demand for affordable transportation and growing policy support for clean energy solutions, investors are increasingly backing scalable EV platforms capable of supporting Africa's next phase of urban and industrial growth.

For riders, the economic impact is immediate: operating a Spiro electric vehicle can reduce daily mobility costs by up to 40%, generating savings of up to USD 2 per day compared to fossil-fuel motorcycles.

Recent third-party verified lifecycle assessment results conducted on Spiro's operations in Kenya further highlight the environmental impact potential of EV infrastructure deployment across African cities:

* Spiro's electric bikes deliver a 72% reduction in climate impact compared to fossil-fuel motorcycles, equivalent to approximately 19 tons of CO emissions avoided over a vehicle's lifespan.

* The study also identified an 80% reduction in ozone depletion potential and a 20% reduction in particulate matter emissions, underscoring the role electric mobility can play in improving urban air quality and reducing public health risks across rapidly growing cities.

Powering Africa's mobility revolution at scale

With operations across 7 African markets (Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon) and further plans to expand local production and enter new markets such as DRC and Ethiopia, Spiro is building one of Africa's most advanced EV and battery-swapping ecosystems.

Spiro's industrial footprint includes flagship manufacturing plants in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, alongside a state-of-the-art battery recycling facility in Nigeria. Combining locally adapted vehicle design, affordable battery-swapping infrastructure and integrated maintenance ecosystems, Spiro is making electric mobility commercially viable at scale for African riders.

Spiro's technology platform is supported by its Global Technology and Innovation Center in India's Pune city, 150+ engineers and 30+ proprietary patents. The company is actively expanding beyond urban transport into a distributed clean-energy utility network that supports national renewable energy goals while reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels. Its innovations include IoT-enabled, solar-powered swap stations, alongside secondary-life battery applications designed for stationary renewable energy storage.

Investor quotes

'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,' stated Gagan Gupta, Founder of Spiro and Chairman of Equitane.

'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,' says Lars Bo Bertram, CEO of Impact Fund Denmark.

About Spiro

Spiro is Africa's largest electric mobility company and operates the continent's most extensive battery-swapping network for electric two-wheel vehicles. With more than 100,000 electric motorcycles on the road, over 2,500 swapping stations and more than 30 million battery swaps to date, Spiro is replacing expensive fossil-fuel transport with affordable, accessible and sustainable mobility solutions. Through its growing regional production and assembly footprint, Spiro is committed to building electric vehicles made in Africa by Africans for Africa and the world.

About Impact Fund Denmark

Impact Fund Denmark is a Danish impact investor and Denmarks' Development Finance Institution contributing to green, just and inclusive societies as well as supporting the Sustainable Development Goals. Impact Fund Denmark provides risk capital to companies operating in developing countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Ukraine. Investments are made on commercial terms in the form of equity, loans and guarantees. Impact Fund Denmark has co-invested in over 1,300 companies in more than 100 developing countries and emerging markets. Capital under management will increase from DKK 25 billion in 2025 to DKK 45 billion in 2030.