NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 25 — Kenya is moving to develop a dedicated E-Mobility Bill and supporting regulations, marking a shift from encouraging electric vehicle adoption to building the legal and investment framework that could determine how electric buses, matatus, motorcycles and charging networks develop across the country.
The State Department for Transport has signed a cooperation agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to support implementation of Kenya’s National E-Mobility Policy.
The agreement was signed on Monday following a meeting between Transport Principal Secretary Mohamed Daghar and IFC officials at Transcom House.
“Today, I met with officials from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, at Transcom House to review the progress of the ongoing engagement between the State Department for Transport and IFC, and to formalise our partnership through the signing of a Cooperation Agreement,” Daghar said.
The partnership is being implemented through IFC’s Country Advisory and Economics Department and co-financed by the Government of Japan through the Comprehensive Japan Trust Fund.
“This collaboration…marks an important step in advancing Kenya’s electric mobility agenda,” Daghar said.
The government says the cooperation will support development of an E-Mobility Bill and accompanying regulations, while strengthening institutions responsible for coordinating, implementing and monitoring reforms in the rapidly growing sector.
Electric mobility moves from policy to implementation
The significance of the agreement extends beyond the introduction of another government policy.
Electric vehicles are already becoming increasingly visible in Kenya’s transport system, meaning regulators are now confronting questions around charging infrastructure, investment, public transport electrification, vehicle standards and local manufacturing.
Kenya launched its National Electric Mobility Policy earlier this year as a framework for accelerating the transition towards cleaner transport.
The government said cumulative electric vehicle registrations had reached 39,324 by the end of 2025, compared with only 1,378 in 2022, with electric motorcycles accounting for a significant part of the expansion.
The next challenge is therefore increasingly about creating the rules and infrastructure necessary to support a much larger electric transport industry.
That transition is already becoming visible within public transport. Metros Kenya has previously examined how electric buses are becoming part of Nairobi’s public transport system, as operators begin deploying the technology on regular passenger services.
Electric buses will test the policy on the ground
Public transport could become one of the biggest tests of whether Kenya’s e-mobility ambitions translate into everyday transport.
Unlike private cars, buses and matatus can operate for long hours and accumulate substantial daily mileage. Their commercial viability consequently depends on reliability, sufficient range, manageable operating costs and access to charging infrastructure.
During a recent Metros Kenya visit to BasiGo’s fleet and charging operations, Fleet Manager Francis Mungai explained how electric buses are tested for passenger loads, range, braking and suspension before entering revenue service.
BasiGo uses sandbags to simulate passenger loads and establish how additional weight affects vehicle performance. One of the buses inspected by Metros had already accumulated approximately 91,000 kilometres, while the buses were described as having an operating range of roughly 200 to 300 kilometres, depending on operating conditions.
Such operational realities illustrate why regulation alone will not determine whether electric public transport succeeds.
Operators must be confident that vehicles can perform the work currently undertaken by diesel-powered fleets.
Matatu SACCOs could become central to the transition
Kenya’s public transport structure also means the transition cannot be driven exclusively by vehicle manufacturers or government.
Thousands of buses and matatus are operated through private companies and SACCOs.
Metros’ Nairobi Matatu SACCOs, Routes and Destinations directory illustrates how operators are spread across the city’s major commuter corridors, serving different estates and destinations.
If electric matatus become more widely available, these operators will ultimately make many of the commercial decisions determining how quickly Nairobi’s existing fleets transition away from internal-combustion vehicles.
The government’s e-mobility framework has consequently identified financing, insurance and incentives among the mechanisms that could support public transport electrification.
The proposed legislation could provide greater certainty to operators considering investments in vehicles that may cost more to acquire initially but potentially offer different operating economics over their working lives.
Electrifying Nairobi would require a substantial charging network
The scale of Nairobi’s existing public transport system demonstrates another challenge.
The Nairobi Matatu Routes and Numbers database maps services across Thika Road, Jogoo Road, Mombasa Road, Waiyaki Way, Ngong Road, Lang’ata Road, Outer Ring Road and numerous other corridors.
Electrifying a meaningful portion of that network would require more than importing or assembling electric buses.
The vehicles need somewhere to charge.
The government says the IFC partnership will support efforts to attract private investment into EV manufacturing, assembly and charging infrastructure.
That could eventually make charging stations an important new component of Kenya’s transport infrastructure.
For commercial fleets, charger location is particularly important because an electric bus that has to travel considerable distances away from its route simply to recharge loses productive operating time.
As fleets expand, depots and strategically located charging hubs are therefore likely to become increasingly important.
Nairobi’s major bus stations, termini and passenger interchange points also illustrate the concentration of public transport activity around particular parts of the city.
That does not necessarily mean chargers will be installed at those locations, but it demonstrates why the geography of existing public transport will have to be considered when planning future charging infrastructure.
Electric matatus could eventually move beyond Nairobi
The transition is also unlikely to remain confined to urban buses.
Metros has previously reported on efforts to test electric matatus on intercity operations, an important development because longer-distance routes present different charging and range requirements from urban services.
A city bus can potentially return regularly to a depot or charging hub.
An intercity vehicle requires charging infrastructure distributed along or near the corridors it serves.
That means widespread adoption of electric public transport could eventually create demand for charging infrastructure along Kenya’s major highways and in regional towns.
A sufficiently developed network could allow electric matatus and buses to move between counties without operators worrying about whether charging facilities are available at the destination or along the journey.
Local manufacturing could become the bigger economic opportunity
Kenya’s electric mobility ambitions also extend beyond replacing petrol and diesel vehicles.
The National E-Mobility Policy identifies local manufacturing and assembly as important components of the transition.
The government wants to encourage investment across the EV value chain, potentially creating opportunities in vehicle assembly, batteries, charging equipment, maintenance, software and supporting services.
This could make electric mobility an industrial-development issue as much as an environmental or transport policy.
If vehicles replacing parts of Kenya’s enormous motorcycle, matatu and bus fleets are increasingly assembled locally, the transition could support new technical jobs and supply chains.
The government has already introduced fiscal incentives for parts of the industry, including tax measures affecting electric buses, motorcycles, bicycles and batteries.
Under the new IFC cooperation, existing fiscal and non-fiscal incentives are expected to be reviewed as Kenya develops clearer short-, medium- and long-term targets for electric mobility.
Kenya also wants to reduce its dependence on imported fuel
There is a wider economic motivation behind the transition.
Transport remains heavily dependent on imported petroleum, exposing Kenya to international oil prices and requiring substantial foreign exchange expenditure.
When launching the National E-Mobility Policy, the government put Kenya’s annual petroleum import bill at around US$5 billion, while citing petroleum imports of Sh628.4 billion in 2023.
Electric transport offers a different model because vehicles can draw energy from Kenya’s domestic electricity system.
The economic impact becomes particularly significant when considering intensively used commercial vehicles such as buses, matatus and boda bodas rather than only privately owned electric cars.
Every commercial vehicle that transitions successfully from imported petroleum to electricity potentially shifts part of its energy expenditure into the domestic electricity economy.
Regulation could determine the next phase
Kenya has already established the policy direction.
The more difficult stage now begins: translating that ambition into a transport system that works commercially.
The proposed E-Mobility Bill could establish clearer rules governing the sector, while the IFC partnership is expected to strengthen institutional coordination, review incentives and help create national targets for adoption.
For public transport operators, however, success will ultimately be measured less by policy documents than by whether electric vehicles can operate reliably and economically on existing routes.
Kenya’s Nairobi Commuter Rail network and expanding electric bus sector also show that the wider public transport system is gradually diversifying beyond its traditional dependence on conventional matatus and buses.
The Kenya-IFC agreement therefore arrives at an important point.
Electric buses are already carrying passengers. Electric motorcycles are increasingly visible. Charging infrastructure is expanding, and local assembly is emerging.
What Kenya is now attempting to build is the regulatory architecture around that transition.
If successful, the E-Mobility Bill and supporting regulations could help determine not only how many electric vehicles Kenya has, but who builds them, who finances them, where they charge and how quickly they become part of everyday public transport.
