Ambidexterity is key, says Chris, a young Kenyan entrepreneur on the quest to revolutionising East Africa’s transportation landscape with more sustainable solutions.
Chris Maara, a 37-year-old visionary entrepreneur and founder of Kiri EV, embarked on a transformative journey to revolutionize transportation in Africa. His company, established in 2020, focuses on manufacturing affordable electric vehicles and charging systems for the Kenyan and East African markets. The company was founded as a bold response to the need for sustainable and practical mobility solutions across the African continent. From humble beginnings, Kiri EV has emerged as a pioneer in electric mobility, bringing innovative solutions to the forefront of the industry.
The inception of Kiri EV began in 2019 when Chris, at the age of 31, identified a significant gap in the transportation sector. The idea was to introduce electric mobility solutions tailored to the unique needs of the Kenyan market and across Africa. Kiri EV’s mission is to provide cost-effective and durable vehicles, saving between 40% to 60% on fuel and operational costs compared to petrol-powered alternatives. The initial focus was on electric two-wheelers, specifically motorcycles, with plans to expand into electric three-wheelers, also known as tuk-tuks. The company also provides essential infrastructure such as charging stations and maintenance services.
Chris's inspiration stemmed from the potential for new players to enter the market with advancements in technology. Unlike traditional petrol motorcycles, which require over a thousand parts and precise manufacturing, electric vehicles require simple components such as wires and batteries, making them more accessible for new entrants. The initial electric motorcycles sourced from India and China proved unsuitable for African roads. This led to extensive research and development during 2020 and 2021, resulting in the development of the third version of their electric motorcycle and the second version of the tuk-tuk. These vehicles were designed to align with the rigorous demands of commercial use, such as taxis and last-mile delivery services, rather than just personal transportation.
Since its foundation, Kiri EV has made significant strides. The company has assembled 125 motorcycles, with 80 sold outright. The major push for sales began in November and December 2023, following the arrival of a full container of their third version of the electric motorcycles. Before this, shipments were small-scale, testing each version before scaling up. The hardware nature of their product necessitates a longer timeline for testing and feedback, with changes often taking more than six months to assess their effectiveness and make updates.
The company’s early stages were funded through Chris's personal savings, pumped from his other established business. This enabled them to develop prototypes and launch the first few bikes on the ground. However, external funding became essential as the company began intensive R&D to redesign motorcycles fit for African roads.
At first, Chris sought angel and venture capital funding but was turned down because Kiri EV was considered too early-stage. Instead, the company turned to grant financing, securing grants totaling between $250,000 and $300,000 from grant funders and accelerators such as institutions, Siemens Foundation, and the Kenya Climate Innovation Center. These grants were pivotal in scaling the company’s operations and bringing its electric motorcycles to market. Additionally, Kiri EV secured further funding from develoPPP Ventures, DEG Impulse which provided $100,000 in funding to demonstrate the commercial viability of the startup. Consequently, Kiri EV raised matching funds through personal savings, a bank loan, and support from relatives and friends, which allowed them to import their first container and scale up production.
Additionally, Chris emphasizes that the first resource an entrepreneur must rely on is their own commitment. Before seeking external funding, Chris highlights the importance of conducting comprehensive market research to ensure the viability of the business idea and its alignment with personal motivations. Besides, Chris attributes much of his success to building a strong support network and having people to confide in, whether they’re friends, family, or mentors, during the entrepreneurial exhaustive journey. He emphasizes the value of being surrounded by other startup founders and sharing experiences with other entrepreneurs, which helped him stay grounded and motivated.
Moreover, although Chris wore many hats, from CEO to janitor, in the early days of Kiri EV, he quickly realized that to grow the company, he must build a strong, dedicated and solid team that could take on various responsibilities. This would relieve the burden of involvement in every aspect of the business, allowing him to focus more on strategic decision-making to accelerate the company’s growth. Although Chris is building Kiri EV without a co-founder in his business, he acknowledges that finding a co-founder is essential for many entrepreneurs, providing someone to share the load and critical decisions.
Establishing Kiri EV wasn't without its hurdles, and for Chris, finding skilled talent for an emerging sector was one of the toughest. Few had experience with components like controllers, batteries, and motors, which are crucial to an electric vehicle's functionality.
To bridge this gap, Chris identified the solar energy sector as a closely related industry, given that solar power systems also involve lithium-ion batteries and electrical wiring. He began recruiting talent from the solar industry, knowing that these skills could be involved in electric mobility with some training. However, this came at a cost. Developing the necessary talent internally took time, and the few individuals who understood the sector were expensive, making it difficult for Kiri EV to compete with better-funded foreign startups. Therefore, Chris had to offer non-monetary incentives to retain his staff and deal with losses as new employees learned on the job.
Additionally, the sector's novelty brought regulatory hurdles. When Kiri EV first started importing parts, Kenyan authorities lacked the infrastructure to properly classify electric vehicles, sometimes categorizing them as toys or not recognizing them at all. This meant Chris couldn't register the motorcycles, making it impossible to get them on the road. Other regulatory inconsistencies, such as tax differences between EV batteries and solar batteries, further complicated matters, although they both have the same battery type especially when i=concerning lithion-ion batteries.
Consequently, Chris and other industry players had to lobby the government to address these issues, forming the electric mobility association of Kenya (EMAK) to push for policy changes and benefits for the e-mobility sector. Despite their efforts, they initially struggled to be heard due to their small startups that lacked revenues and significant influence. They started reaching international entities to lobby the government on their behalf, a bittersweet advantage that sometimes skewed the policy direction to favor their foreign citizens who have startups in Kenya rather than the overall ecosystem.
Chris pointed to a combination of personal perseverance, adaptability, and building a capable and dedicated team. An entrepreneur should have a lot of grit, perseverance, and almost blind optimism that they will succeed. For him, the journey was about staying patient, learning and pushing through despite the challenges. He highlighted the importance of having a plan, but with the understanding that flexibility is key. He noted that his plan changed many times due to government regulations, new funding opportunities, or the addition of key employees who can drive business development. However, the ability to adapt, learn quickly and remain optimistic kept him moving forward when many might have given up.
Another crucial factor in Chris's success was separating himself from the business. Chris made a conscious effort to ensure Kiri EV could operate independently of him. He recognized the risk of burnout or unforeseen events, knowing that if the business depended solely on him, it would struggle if he ever had to step away. To mitigate this, Chris focused on delegating responsibilities and building a strong team capable of taking ownership of different functions to ensure Kiri EV's stability and scalability.
A significant aspect of Chris's leadership at Kiri EV has been his commitment to engaging and empowering youth at his company. The company's core team consists of 7 members, with an average age of 28 years, some of the lead engineers being 24 years, and complemented by the contribution of 10 youth volunteers. For Chris, this was a strategic choice driven by both practical and visionary reasons. Chris explained that solar engineers were not only expensive but often less flexible in their approach. Instead, Kiri EV chose to recruit fresh graduate talents, tapping into their enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Beyond the immediate benefit of keeping the company’s workforce cost-effective and agile, he saw a long-term opportunity. His approach was to invest in training young team members in technical, leadership, and management skills. This is to develop future department leaders who could take on more responsibility and ease his workload as the business expands.
Kiri EV's commitment to youth development extends beyond hiring full-timers. The company regularly partners with the T-VETs (Technical and Vocational Education and Training centers) in Kenya, offering internships that provide practical experience in the growing EV industry. Chris ensured that interns worked on significant projects, maximizing their learning curve during their short mission with the company. To date, Kiri EV has offered training to 20 interns and 1600 individuals through specialized workshops.
Looking forward, Kiri EV is expanding its youth development efforts by collaborating with the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) and local colleges to provide more structured internships. Chris sees this as a pivotal step in securing both the company’s future and Kenya’s capacity to lead in the green mobility space.
Despite Kiri EV's commitment to empowering young people, Chris and his team have encountered significant challenges in expanding their engagement efforts. One of the main stumbling blocks has been the disconnect between theoretical education and the required practical skills in the EV industry. Despite many university graduates having degrees or advanced qualifications, they often lack essential practical skills. This skills gap has forced Kiri EV to consume more resources on additional training. Chris also noted the presence of a sense of entitlement among some university graduates, expecting high salaries due to their degrees. In contrast, Chris has found more success in hiring T-VET graduates. Students from these training programs are propelled with practical experience, usually from previous internships, requiring less training besides coming in with a hunger and determination to succeed.
Chris believes that there are several essential factors to create an enabling environment for startups in Africa. One major issue is the need for innovative, progressive government regulations. He highlights that regulation needs to be industry-friendly, especially for emerging sectors like e-mobility. He refers to a common issue where governments, in an attempt to boost certain industries, rush into over-regulation, potentially inhibiting and stifling innovation. For example, in Kenya, the government introduced regulations for e-mobility, including costly permits for setting up charging points. This created barriers to entry for startups. Chris argues that startups need time to experiment, figure out the appropriate business model and grow before imposing strict frameworks, as too much regulation early on discourages investment and innovation.
Moreover, Chris suggests that Africa needs regulations encouraging local investors from the continent to investment in local start-ups, such as offering tax breaks for angel investors, as in the UK. He also points out that much of the startup funding in Africa disproportionately favors foreign founders, depriving local founders of the same opportunities, hence the need for increasing the number of local (African) investors. This disparity is often due to the social and economic divides that give foreign founders more access to venture capitalists through informal channels such as, having been educated in the same schools/universities, socializing high-end social clubs, which local startups cannot afford or not privileged too.
Additionally, Chris emphasizes the need for more direct support for African startups. He argues that regulations should provide equal playing ground for healthy competition, requiring foreign businesses operating in Africa to maintain some degree of local ownership, partnership and representation. For Chris, the recent removal of such regulations in Kenya leaves local entrepreneurs more vulnerable, as foreign companies can enter, invest, and withdraw with significant consequences to the local economy. He highlights the need for more structural support for local founders like himself who are deeply invested in their countries.
Looking ahead, Chris envisions KIRI EV expanding across Africa, starting with a strong presence in Kenya and eventually spreading to East and Central Africa. He foresees the company evolving from the startup phase into a large-scale organization that manufactures within the continent, innovating and creating new types of vehicles and fresh concepts for the market. One of the key aspects of this growth strategy involves engaging more young people. Recognizing that the average age in Kenya is 19.5, Chris understands the importance of integrating young engineers into the company's structure and economy. In line with this, Chris aims to equip more young engineers with the skills to service electric motorcycles. He wants to decentralize skills so that repairs and maintenance can happen without the need to return to the company, ensuring widespread knowledge transfer. This approach, especially focusing on the youth, is vital to the company’s long-term success and its mission of creating jobs and empowering Africa's younger generations.
Chris has learned several important lessons in his quest to create a sustainable company First, he emphasizes that "cash is king." Reaching revenue, in the beginning, grants a company much-needed freedom,leverage and ability to independently drive its own growth, and is an advantage when negotiating with investors. It not only provides operational stability but also offers control over growth and decision-making. Chris advocates for starting off working with smaller, more accessible clients, which allows room for error, learning and growth, without risking large, reputation-altering mistakes with bigger clients. Secondly, Chris stresses the importance of building a solid support network and having peers who provide motivation and perspective to remain grounded and reassured, as the entrepreneurial journey can be a lonely one. Lastly, he advises entrepreneurs to regularly step back and evaluate the bigger picture. It’s easy to get caught up in the nitty-gritty of daily operations, but taking time to review the current progress against the original business plan is crucial, allowing you to course correct and adjust. Chris emphasizes the need for honesty in these self-assessments, allowing room for improvements and potential redirection or pivoting when necessary.
This series, produced in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, focuses on young African entrepreneurs promoting economic growth through green tech innovation in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya. It showcases these founders' journeys, highlighting their contributions, successes, and challenges while identifying the support needed to expand their innovative ventures.
