Addis Ababa-based startup Dodai secures $13 million in equity and debt to expand e-mobility ecosystem amid Ethiopia’s fuel import curbs, targeting 30,000 users in three years.
Electric mobility startup Dodai has closed a $13 million Series A round—$8 million in equity and $5 million in debt—to fast-track electric motorbike deployment and battery-swapping stations across Ethiopia. Backers include British International Investment (BII), Value Chain Innovation Fund, UTokyo Innovation Platform, Nagase & Co., and others like Persistent ACV Fund and Inclusion Japan.
Launched three years ago, Dodai has deployed over 2,000 electric motorbikes in Addis Ababa, employing about 100 mostly local staff. Its battery-swapping model cuts rider costs and downtime, riding Ethiopia’s policy shift banning fuel vehicle imports to boost clean transport demand.
The funding fuels aggressive growth: 3,000 swapping users and 30 stations in Addis within 12 months, scaling to 30,000 users and 1,000 stations over three years. Expansion eyes Abidjan, Kinshasa, and Accra next.
BII CEO Leslie Maasdorp called Ethiopia a “compelling frontier market” for clean mobility, unlocking economic and green gains. Dodai SVP Hilina Legesse noted the raise reflects global trust, with 2,000+ riders already earning via the platform at the nexus of jobs, logistics, and sustainability.
