Dodai, an Ethiopia-focused electric mobility start-up, has raised $13 million in a Series A funding round to expand its electric motorbike fleet and battery-swapping infrastructure across Addis Ababa.

The round comprises $8 million in equity and $5 million in debt, with backing from a mix of international investors including Value Chain Innovation Fund, UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Nagase, Persistent Energy, For Seasons, CBC Co., Ltd, Inclusion Japan (ICJ), and debt financing from British International Investment (BII).

The capital injection comes at a pivotal moment for Ethiopia’s transport sector, where aggressive government policy is reshaping the automotive landscape and accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels.

“This funding will help take us from early traction to real scale,” said Yuma Sasaki, CEO and Founder of Dodai. “We’ve proven the model in Addis Ababa—now we’re building the network and infrastructure needed to make electric mobility the default.”

What you need to know

Ethiopia has emerged as one of Africa’s most assertive EV markets following a sweeping ban on the import of private internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in 2024.

The government extended the restriction in 2025 to cover gasoline- and diesel-powered trucks, effectively forcing a structural transition towards electric mobility.

The impact has been immediate. According to Ethiopia’s Ministry of Transport and Logistics, the country now has approximately 100,000 electric vehicles on its roads, a figure that underscores both policy momentum and rising consumer adoption.

Industry observers say this regulatory clarity is creating a rare window for early-stage companies to define market standards and build foundational infrastructure.

Building an integrated model for urban mobility

Founded in 2023 by Yuma Sasaki, Dodai is pursuing a vertically integrated approach that combines local assembly of electric motorbikes with a battery-swapping network designed to reduce downtime for riders.

The company assembles its bikes and batteries domestically, positioning itself to benefit from Ethiopia’s push for local manufacturing while lowering costs associated with imports.

Its battery-swapping model allows riders to exchange depleted batteries for fully charged units within minutes, addressing one of the key bottlenecks in EV adoption: charging time and infrastructure gaps.

Since launch, Dodai says it has assembled and deployed more than 2,000 electric motorbikes across Addis Ababa. The company is now moving from early deployment to network expansion.

Scaling infrastructure amid rising competition

Dodai’s growth strategy centres on rapidly expanding its battery-swapping footprint. The company plans to install 30 swapping stations across Addis Ababa within the next 12 months and grow its user base to 3,000 riders over the same period.

Over a longer horizon, Dodai is targeting 30,000 users and 1,000 battery-swapping stations in the Ethiopian capital within three years, an ambitious plan that would place it among the most extensive e-mobility networks on the continent.

However, competition is intensifying. Local players such as Belayneh Kinde Group (BKG), alongside Chinese manufacturers including Yadea, are also moving into Ethiopia’s nascent electric two-wheeler market, drawn by favourable policy conditions and rising demand.

Dodai is betting that its integrated model, combining hardware, infrastructure, and local assembly will provide a defensible edge in a market where reliability and convenience are likely to determine long-term adoption.

A launchpad for continental expansion

Beyond Ethiopia, Dodai is positioning itself for regional expansion.

The company plans to enter other high-growth African cities, including Abidjan, Kinshasa, Accra, Dar es Salaam, and Cairo, from 2028, effectively exporting its battery-swapping and electric motorbike model to urban centres facing similar congestion and energy challenges.

“We chose Ethiopia because that’s where the opportunity to build from first principles really exists,” said Sasaki. “This raise allows us to double down on that bet—and show what the future of mobility in African cities can look like.”

As African cities grapple with rapid urbanisation, rising fuel costs, and climate pressures, Ethiopia’s policy-led EV transition may offer a blueprint, one that companies like Dodai are now racing to operationalise at scale.

Talking Points

It is notable that Dodai is building its business in Ethiopia at a time when government policy is aggressively pushing the transition away from internal combustion engines, creating a rare, policy-driven growth environment for electric mobility.

This positioning gives the company a strong early-mover advantage in a market where regulation is not just supportive, but actively shaping demand and accelerating adoption of electric vehicles.

At Techparley, we see Dodai’s integrated model, combining local assembly with battery-swapping infrastructure as a practical response to one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption in Africa.

By enabling riders to swap batteries instead of waiting for long charging cycles, Dodai is aligning its solution with the realities of commercial riders who prioritise speed, uptime, and daily earnings.

The company’s focus on local assembly is also significant, as it supports cost reduction, builds domestic capacity, and aligns with broader industrialisation goals in Ethiopia.

If executed well, Dodai’s model could go beyond Ethiopia and serve as a blueprint for electric two-wheeler adoption across other high-growth African cities, where similar urban mobility challenges exist.

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