KENYAN PARTNERSHIPS PROMOTE TECH CAREERS FOR INVENTORS. Opibus, a Swedish-Kenyan technology company that designs, develops and deploys electric vehicles tailored for the African has just introduced the first all-electric bus in Kenya as well as the first African designed electric bus ever. This is the first major step in the company’s vision to provide a locally designed and developed electric bus that can be mass-produced for the pan-African market by 2023.
The bus is designed and developed in-house with local engineering talent, while at the same time utilizing local manufacturing partners. Furthermore, the bus will be significantly lower cost than importing fully built electric buses. Plus, it also has superior performance compared to its diesel counterpart.
The electric bus does not have a combustion engine or manual gearboxes, there are no oil/filters/gaskets that need to be changed. This translates to an 80% reduction in maintenance expenses, compared to a diesel bus. Taking into account the electricity charges which are also significantly lower than the ever-increasing diesel price, the total operating expenses are lowered by 50% and will revolutionize the public transport sector in Africa.