Why Uganda government gave this Dubai-based electric bike manufacturer land

The government of Uganda has allocated land in Wakiso district to electric motorcycle company Spiro to support the construction of a major assembly plant aimed at expanding electric mobility production in the country.

The land, located in Bukerere near Kira in Wakiso district, was provided through the National Housing and Construction Corporation (NHCC). The facility is expected to enable Spiro to scale up production and diversify into other electric vehicles, including electric cars and buses.

NHCC Chief Executive Officer Eng. Kenneth Kaijuka said the corporation will work with the company to deliver the project as directed by President Yoweri 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, because His Excellency the President directed that National Housing and Spiro will put our hands together and make sure this plant is brought up,” Kaijuka said.

Spiro, which has been operating in Uganda for about a year and a half, 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 allocation of land will strengthen the company’s expansion plans and create employment opportunities 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 on industrialisation and have this technological transfer of the new technology 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 compared to petrol-powered boda boda motorcycles.

Some riders have already adopted the technology. Henry Lugembe, a boda boda rider who uses a Spiro motorcycle, said the bike has helped him reduce operating costs.

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

However, he noted that riders still face challenges with the limited number of battery-swapping stations.

“You find us struggling in lines at a swap station, you find a swap station has batteries, you have to wait until they get to a certain percentage to be swapped,” he said, urging the company and government to expand the network faster.

Spiro is part of a growing electric mobility sector 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. It currently operates in several countries including Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, with more than 60,000 bikes and about 1,500 battery swap stations.

Spiro’s battery-swapping model allows riders to exchange depleted batteries for fully charged ones in minutes, reducing downtime and fuel costs for motorcycle taxi operators who often spend long hours on the road.

The company says the new assembly plant in Wakiso will help expand production capacity and strengthen Uganda’s position in the growing electric mobility industry.