When a $250,000 U.S. grant vanished overnight, Oloufounmi Koucoi, ZED Motors’ founder faced near-bankruptcy. Today, the company is leading a clean mobility revolution in West Africa with electric motorcycles that triple daily profits for riders. From redesigning bikes that handles African roads to renting batteries instead of selling them, Koucoi is proving that affordable, sustainable transport is possible and he shares how in this in this interview with Autojournal Africa.
What inspired you to create ZED Motors, and what does the name actually represent?
ZED Motors comes from Zero Emission Designs. The name “ZED” is deeply symbolic for us. It represents the point of Zero. In a development journey, you have to hit the point of zero before you can start crossing over into growth and self-reliance. It’s about taking a country from being very poor to a point where it can begin developing itself.
The inspiration came from my background in environmental management and my time in Mexico in 2021. I rented an electric two-wheeler, took it apart, and realised that the main difference from a petrol bike was just the engine. Since we had run a solar company since 2013, we already mastered battery technology. We decided to use solar power to electrify the “backbone” of the African movement—two and three-wheelers.
Why focus on electric motorcycles instead of cars or larger electric vehicles?
Motorcycles are the lifeblood of West African cities. When I looked at the mechanics, I saw that a thermal engine takes gas, while an electric engine takes electricity stored in a battery. By focusing on two and three-wheelers, we are targeting the most common form of transport for the average person. It was a sector where we could make the most immediate impact on energy access and carbon reduction.
Why has the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) been so slow in Nigeria compared to its neighbours?
It’s about the “enabling environment.” In Kenya, Rwanda, and Togo, governments created frameworks for early adopters. Benin, for example, offers free duties and zero VAT on EVs. In Nigeria, the effort is mostly coming from the companies themselves without government help.
While there are ways to import duty-free in Nigeria, you have to file complex paperwork that many aren’t aware of. Nigerian EV makers are making huge efforts, but they are “rowing against the tide” without a clear national regulatory framework.
How does your “Battery as a Service” (BaaS) model solve the affordability crisis for riders?
An EV is often double the cost of a petrol bike because of the battery. Our model changes that. We sell the bike but rent out the battery. This makes the bike’s purchase price the same as a traditional one.
The battery then becomes your “fuel.” Instead of buying liters of gas, you pay to swap or charge the battery. This allows the rider to save money from day one because electric charging is significantly cheaper than petrol.
You faced a major financial crisis when your US funding was pulled. Can you walk us through that?
It was one of the hardest moments of my life. We had a $250,000 grant from the US African Development Foundation (USADF) to build solar charging hubs across Benin. But when the US administration changed in early 2017, they froze all foreign aid to check “efficiency.”
I had already hired people and signed real estate deals. I nearly lost everything. I couldn’t pay manufacturers in India, and my competitors were gaining ground. It was traumatizing; I spent days in bed unable to eat.
How did you eventually recover from that near-bankruptcy?
My advisory board stepped up. In mid-May, they gave us an emergency $10,000 loan, followed by $20,000 in convertible debt. Then, we got the news that we won a $200,000 grant from PREO (UK funding). That saved us. Now, we are back in business and leading a pilot project with the Benin government and the World Bank to deploy 5,000 electric taxis in Cotonou.
You mentioned your Nigerian roots. How does your family history influence your work today?
My great-grandfather was from Osun State, Nigeria. He was a tool-maker who was eventually freed and settled in what is now Benin. My father was the first son to be educated and eventually became a minister.
I grew up influenced by my father’s revolutionary books about leadership and driving nations from darkness to light. I moved to the US to study how to lead movements, and I realised that mastering electricity is the only way for Africa to be truly self-reliant.
Is it true that electric bikes are actually more profitable for taxi drivers than petrol ones?
Absolutely. In Cotonou, a taxi driver pays $1.20 for a liter of gas and gets 25km. For that same $1.20, they can fully charge an electric battery and get 70km. That is nearly triple the distance for the same price.
These drivers are saving 30% to 35% in daily profit. They don’t care about “going green”, they care that they can finally take more money home to their families.
How do you make sure these bikes can survive the rough “African road” reality?
We had to stop importing “standard” bikes from China because they kept breaking. In Africa, a “two-wheeler” often carries a family of six, two kids in front, the dad driving, and a mom with two babies in the back. Our manufacturers were shocked when they saw the picture.
We had to redesign the frames to handle that weight. We also made sure that every part, except the motor and battery, is a standard spare part (like TVS or Bajaj) available at any local market. If a mirror or a brake breaks, the driver can fix it anywhere.
What is your response to people who say electric vehicles are only for the rich?
I tell my fellow EV founders, “Stop trying to make 100% profit.” We need to make this a mass-market product. If we keep prices low, the African continent will be the first in the world to turn fully electric.
Even high-end EVs are becoming cheaper; brands like BYD have over-produced this year, and you can get city cars for much less than people think.
What keeps you going when the “entrepreneurial pain” becomes too much?
I have had days where I wanted to give up and move back to the US. But I look at the 20+ employees we’ve hired and the technicians we’ve trained from south to north. If I leave, what legacy am I leaving behind?
I want the youths of Africa to see that you can stay here and build something world-class. My “pain” is now my signal. If I don’t feel the “burn” by 5:00 AM, I feel like I’m not working hard enough.
What are your expansion plans, particularly for Nigeria?
We want to enter Nigeria soon! We are looking to partner with local players like Orbit Electric and others already on the ground. We want to bring solar production, battery technology, and local assembly.
We are looking for franchise partners who want to do vehicle leasing and fast-charging the right way. Africa’s transition to clean mobility is inevitable, and we want to lead it.
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