Just like every other country across the world, transport in Ethiopia is primarily a tool for survival rather than lifestyle, this is why Ethiopian e-mobility startup Dodai is quietly redefining how electric vehicles can work in emerging markets.
Founded in 2023, the company is building the physical and energy infrastructure required to make electric mobility practical, affordable, and scalable, starting with two- and three-wheelers.
By combining electric motorcycles, battery ownership, and a fast battery-swapping network into a single integrated system, Dodai is tackling some of the most persistent barriers that have slowed EV adoption across Africa.
This local, but high quality innovation tackles electric vehicle loopholes in African markets which include high upfront costs, unreliable charging access, and long downtime.
For thousands of riders in Addis Ababa, the shift is already translating into dramatic cost savings, more predictable income, and a more stable livelihood.
What Is Dodai?
Dodai is an Ethiopia-based electric mobility startup focused on deploying electric two- and three-wheelers supported by a citywide battery-swapping network.
Instead of relying on conventional charging, which can take hours and depends heavily on stable electricity access, Dodai enables riders to swap depleted batteries for fully charged ones in just minutes.
The company was founded to bridge the gap between Ethiopia’s ambitious electric mobility policies and the everyday realities faced by drivers and small business owners.
“Dodai identified a significant gap between strong policy ambition around electric mobility and the practical realities faced by everyday users,” said Yuma Sasaki, founder and CEO of Dodai.
“While Ethiopia has abundant renewable power and supportive regulation, charging infrastructure remains limited, electricity access is uneven, and consumers are under significant economic pressure.”
What Dodai Does and Why It Matters
Dodai’s real mission is to make electric mobility usable for people who depend on transport to earn a living.
In Ethiopia, motorcycles are not leisure vehicles; they are income-generating assets used by delivery riders, commercial transport operators, and small business owners.
Many electric mobility solutions imported from developed markets fail in such environments.
“Many e-mobility solutions imported from developed markets are poorly suited to these conditions, and remain unaffordable or impractical for most users,” Sasaki explained.
Dodai’s approach prioritises affordability, reliability, and speed, three factors that directly determine whether a rider can stay on the road and keep earning.
How Dodai’s Battery-Swapping Model Works
At the centre of Dodai’s strategy is battery swapping. Rather than asking riders to purchase expensive batteries or wait for long charging cycles, Dodai owns and manages the batteries while providing a network of swapping stations across the city.
This model allows drivers to:
- Swap batteries in minutes
- Avoid long charging downtime
- Reduce dependence on home electricity access
Sasaki said the company primarily competes with petrol-powered motorcycles, noting that “there are no other companies building integrated swapping networks at scale” in the market.
By offering a faster, cheaper alternative to fuel-powered bikes, Dodai directly challenges the dominant mode of urban transport.
Why Ethiopia Is a Strategic Starting Point
Ethiopia’s fundamentals played a major role in Dodai’s decision to launch there. The country combines a large population with growing urban demand, supportive regulation, and limited competition in electric mobility infrastructure.
“One of the reasons we dedicated to start in Ethiopia is because the country has strong fundamentals, Africa’s second largest population, strong growth prospects, and a liberalising economic agenda, but still remains a ‘blue ocean’ with limited competition,” the Japanese e entrepreneure said.
A major boost came in January 2023, when Ethiopia became the first country in the world to ban the import of internal combustion engine vehicles, a policy shift that rapidly increased interest in electric alternatives.
“Operating in a market that became the first in the world to ban the import of internal combustion engine vehicles significantly accelerated interest in electric alternatives, like those provided by Dodai,” Sasaki noted.
Commercial Users Driving Adoption
Dodai’s strongest traction has come from commercial users in Addis Ababa, where the company assembles electric motorcycles locally and supports them with a growing battery-swapping network.
“In Ethiopia, as in much of Africa, transport is not a lifestyle choice but a means of earning a living,” Sasaki said. “Users adopt electric mobility when it is clearly cheaper and more reliable than the alternatives.”
Drivers who have switched from fuel-powered motorcycles to Dodai’s electric bikes report significant financial benefits.
“In some cases, fuel and maintenance costs have been reduced by between 80–90 per cent,” Sasaki said.
These savings translate directly into higher take-home earnings, reduced financial stress, and more predictable income.
The reliability of electric motorcycles, requiring less maintenance and experiencing fewer breakdowns, has also enabled drivers to work longer and more consistent hours.
Business Model and Revenue Streams
Dodai generates revenue through two main channels:
- The sale of electric motorcycles
- Fees charged for battery swapping
However, the company is currently prioritising scale over short-term profitability.
“As an infrastructure-led company, Dodai is currently prioritising network expansion and utilisation over short-term profitability,” Sasaki said.
“Revenues have grown steadily alongside deployment, and unit economics at the battery and fleet level are improving as scale increases.”
This approach reflects the capital-intensive nature of mobility infrastructure, where long-term network effects are key to sustainability.
Funding, Expansion Plans, and the Road Ahead
In 2024, Dodai secured a US$7 million funding round, enabling it to accelerate infrastructure deployment and expand its team.
While the startup is currently focused on Addis Ababa, plans are underway to expand to other major Ethiopian cities and neighbouring African countries with similar market dynamics.
Like many infrastructure-heavy startups operating in emerging markets, Dodai faces challenges, including uneven electricity access, high upfront capital requirements, and supply chain constraints for batteries and components.
“Supply chain constraints for batteries and components have also required careful planning,” Sasaki said.
Nevertheless, Ethiopia’s expanding renewable energy capacity and strong policy support continue to improve the company’s long-term outlook.
Talking Points
Dodai’s approach highlights a critical truth about electric mobility in Africa, technology alone is not the problem, context is. Equally important is timing, that’s, the arrival of ideas or projects in the right environment, at the right time.
By centring its model on battery swapping rather than conventional charging, the startup directly confronts structural realities such as uneven electricity access, high fuel costs, and the fact that most urban transport users operate under tight economic pressure.
This makes Dodai’s solution notably more pragmatic than many imported EV models that assume stable power, disposable income, and private ownership.
However, the model’s long-term success will depend on how quickly and sustainably the company can scale its swapping infrastructure beyond Addis Ababa without driving up costs, as infrastructure-heavy strategies demand continuous capital and operational efficiency.
While Ethiopia’s policy environment and ICE import ban provide a strong tailwind, Dodai must still navigate supply chain risks and power reliability to maintain service consistency.
If all this is successfully handled, the startup could offer a replicable blueprint for e-mobility adoption across African cities where affordability, uptime, and income stability matter far more than environmental branding.
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