BREAKING: Odrek Rwabwogo makes case for Spiro electric bikes

Odrek Rwabwogo, chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID), has praised Uganda’s efforts to promote electric motorcycle assembly, saying the initiative could help build long-term manufacturing capacity in the country.

In a statement posted on X, Rwabwogo said PACEID began working with electric bike companies Arise and Spiro in early 2023 to support assembly and manufacturing linked to export development.

“From early 2023, PACEID worked with the Arise and SPIRO electric bike entities. This is to drive assembly, manufacturing and agrivalue addition on some of the export products under our 13 clusters that we began with,” Rwabwogo wrote.

He said building a manufacturing sector sometimes requires difficult policy choices, including reducing some taxes in the short term in order to create long-term industrial capacity.

“It often feels like a painful compromise to cut taxes we so badly need now in order to get long-term manufacturing and assembly capabilities the country will surely need tomorrow,” he said.

Rwabwogo added that he was encouraged to see young Ugandans working on assembly lines and noted that local production could reduce dependence on imported components such as steel bike frames, plastic casings, rubber parts and electric cables.

“We will make it,” he wrote.

He also compared Uganda’s ambitions to China’s early industrial development in Shenzhen.

“China began in 1988 with only 20 percent assembly gains in electric equipment in Shenzhen,” he said, adding that the city later became a global centre for electronics manufacturing. “It all started with one risk – can you give up something now for a better tomorrow?”

Rwabwogo thanked President Yoweri Museveni, entrepreneur Gagan Gupta and project partners for supporting the initiative.

His remarks come as the government moves to support the expansion of electric mobility manufacturing in the country.

The government recently allocated land in Bukerere near Kira in Wakiso district to electric motorcycle company Spiro to build a major assembly plant. The land was provided through the National Housing and Construction Corporation (NHCC).

NHCC Chief Executive Officer Eng. Kenneth Kaijuka said the corporation will support the construction and establishment of the plant as directed by President Museveni.

“And we’ll participate in the construction, we’ll participate in the establishment, making sure that the services are delivered to the plant on behalf of the government of Uganda,” Kaijuka said.

Spiro has operated in Uganda for about a year and a half and specialises in assembling electric motorcycles. The company currently produces about 400 motorcycles each day. On strong sales days about 200 units are sold, while slower days see around 20 units sold.

Spiro Deputy Country Director Bruce Mucunguzi said the project will help expand production while creating jobs for Ugandan youth.

“Spiro came in Uganda to see how to support the vision of the President, to improve the position of our economy and also provide jobs, increase industrialisation and enable technological transfer that comes with electric mobility,” Mucunguzi said.

Electric motorcycles are gaining attention in Uganda’s transport sector because they do not use fuel and produce fewer emissions than petrol-powered boda boda motorcycles.

Henry Lugembe, a boda boda rider who uses a Spiro motorcycle, said the electric bike has helped him reduce operating costs.

“Number one, safety. I’m not afraid even if I’m walking late nights. It is environmentally friendly. I save more using my electric bike than using a fuel bike,” Lugembe said.

However, he said riders still face challenges due to the limited number of battery-swapping stations.

“You find us struggling in lines at a swap station. You have to wait until batteries reach a certain percentage before they are swapped,” he said.

Spiro is part of a growing electric mobility industry across Africa. The Dubai-based company recently secured a $100 million investment led by the Fund for Export Development in Africa, the largest electric vehicle mobility investment on the continent.

The company plans to deploy 100,000 electric bikes across Africa by the end of 2025 and already operates in countries including Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda.