Ampersand's E-Mobility Drive Impresses Investors in Equity Trade Mission
KIGALI, RWANDA: September 18, 2026... Rwanda based e-mobility firm Ampersand showcased its battery-swapping network for commercial motorcycle riders to investors touring the city as part of the Equity Group Trade and Investment Roadshow.
The firm builds and services electric motorcycles and runs a network of swap stations designed around a three-minute battery exchange, aimed at eliminating the downtime riders would otherwise lose charging.
Emmanuel Hakizimana, Ampersand's Country Manager, Kigali, walked delegates through the model. "We build the swap station where the drivers actually come to get batteries. They bring the empty, they get fully charged ones. The rider is rushing, so we want to keep the same behaviour as when they had petrol motorcycles. We want to keep it very quick, the three minutes, just coming to the charging station and going back to the road," Mr. Hakizimana said.
He said a single litre of petrol in Rwanda covers approximately 40 kilometres, though he did not offer a direct cost comparison between petrol and battery power.
"When you look at how much our rider gets on a daily basis on each trip, we are saving them around 50%. The petrol price has raised, it's very crazy everywhere. So, when you look at how much they are getting from the battery, we are saving them 50%, "he explained.
Delegates also visited Dikam Garment Factory, where Kamanzi Gilbert, the firm's Chairperson, noted that Rwanda currently imports over 90% of its garments, leaving a large domestic market for local producers.
"Making garments locally was a very big opportunity because there are many government incentives, including a duty remission on imported raw materials. We started with 10 workers seven years ago, but now we are counting around 400 employees, supporting over 2,000 people," Mr. Kamanzi said.
At Landy Industries, Managing Director Kevin Lio noted that his firm exports 50% of its production outside Rwanda. "The location of Rwanda has its own advantages. We are near the borders of Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, and Congo. Sometimes Rwanda lacks dollars, but Equity gives us a good rate and enough USD, which is very nice for exporters," Mr. Lio explained.
The visits are part of a roadshow designed to give investors direct exposure to businesses across the region. Built on Equity Group's established footprint across East and Central Africa, the roadshow reflects the bank's ambition to be more than a lender, positioning itself as the region's gateway for businesses, investors and entrepreneurs.
Mahvish Malik, Equity Group Associate Director of Trade Relations, said the roadshows are structured to give delegates a firsthand look at doing business in the countries they visit, alongside direct engagement with government and private sector stakeholders.
"Our trade and investment roadshows are organized in a way that really gives our delegates a very strong look and feel of what's like to do business in the country that we're visiting. We also have a strong focus on interactions with the government as well as the private sector associations," Ms. Malik said.
She added that Equity Group has run 15 such roadshows since 2021, including a trip to the DRC earlier this year with over 50 delegates from 25 nationalities, and a June trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar with 35 delegates from 16 nationalities. The Kigali leg concludes with a business roundtable expected to draw over 60 delegates.
It also comes a few days after Equity hosted a successful trade mission in Uganda which attracted over 150 delegates from African and European nations.