Electric Cargo Bikes “Made in Ghana” – Contributing to the Transformation of Ghana’s Transportation

Population growth and urbanization commonly result in increasing mobility needs in emerging economies. The consequences are rising greenhouse gas emissions and a deterioration in air quality. Cleaner mobility solutions are essential to mitigate the negative effects of this trend; electric mobility has the potential to save greenhouse gas emissions in Ghana. The objective was to sustainably integrate electric mobility solutions into the existing transport system and, by focusing on social entrepreneurship, to make it replicable in neighboring countries. Therefore it tested the local production of electric cargo bikes to establish local value chains. Additionally, operating the electric cargo bikes and setting up a charging infrastructure generated new green job opportunities. Establishing a “Net Zero” platform supported the continuous exchange between different local stakeholders from the private and public sector.

Project data

Countries: Ghana
IKI funding: 407,200.68 €
Duration: 07/2021 till 06/2024
Status: completed
Implementing organisation: Siemens Stiftung
Implementing Partner: Impact Hub Accra
Online: https://www.siemens-stiftung.org/en/projects/electric-cargo-bikes-made-in-ghana/

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State of implementation/results

Project completed.
In September 2023, the second locally produced prototype of an e-cargo bike made from 100% recycled and local materials was completed. This served as a blueprint for the production of 20 electric cargo bikes.
As part of the Sankalp West Africa Summit 2023, an event was organized where electric mobility actors could exhibit their products and participants could test them.
In December 2022, the first locally produced prototype of an e-cargo bike made of 100% recycled and local materials was completed.
In October 2022, a Design Sprint competition was held with students from local universities to develop locally adapted charging solutions for the e-cargo bikes. The eight winners of the competition will receive a scholarship to gain practical experience in the e-mobility sector for 12 months as part of the project.
In September 2022 an awareness raising campaign for electric mobility started demonstrating e-mobility solutions in the Ghanian context to change the perception of Ghana's society towards e-mobility.
In August 2022 the Net Zero Advocacy Platform was launched with interested participants from the private sector and academia discussing current challenges of the e-mobility ecosystem in Ghana.
A design for an e-cargo bike made of local, recycled and imported materials was finalized in 2022.
In collaboration with delivery services, five different e-bike models have been tested since 2022 to collect data on their local functionality and real user preferences. --

Latest Update:
10/2024