Electric boda bodas cut back strain, boost savings and deliver stress-free maternity leave for women

By  Moraa Obiria

Senior Gender Journalist

What you need to know:

• Childbirth, a universal right regardless of a woman's socio-economic status, can nonetheless carry a financial penalty for those working in the informal economy.
• For women like Violet, the time needed to safely prepare for birth, recover afterwards and care for a newborn often means stepping away from income altogether.
• In her case, however, the electric motorcycle has helped soften that blow.

When Violet Imanyara parked her electric motorbike earlier this month to begin maternity leave at seven months pregnant, she did so without the anxiety that often shadows time away from work in Kenya's informal transport sector.

From her home in Umoja I, a low-income estate in Nairobi, Violet handed over her electric boda boda to her younger brother, confident the business would continue generating income while she prepared for the arrival of her baby.

“That could have been impossible if he was riding the petrol-consuming one. For that one, getting even Sh600 is hard. It means working for long hours and spending more money on fuel than you get back as profit.”

Violet says she prefers delivering parcels to carrying passengers because the jobs pay better and allow her to earn more in a shorter period. To secure delivery assignments, she relies on ride-hailing applications that connect riders with customers.

For women in the informal economy, maternity leave is often a luxury. The income stops the moment the work does. Every week away from the job means money lost, bills piling up and savings depleted.

Childbirth, a universal right regardless of a woman's socio-economic status, can nonetheless carry a financial penalty for those working in the informal economy. For women like Violet, the time needed to safely prepare for birth, recover afterwards and care for a newborn often means stepping away from income altogether. In her case, however, the electric motorcycle has helped soften that blow.

Just 0.5 per cent female riders 

Yet, despite the rapid growth of the electric motorcycle industry, women remain largely on the sidelines, held back by financial, social and structural barriers.

The 2024 Kenya baseline report on gender and e-mobility by the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) and the Africa E-Mobility Alliance (Afema) attributes this gap to a combination of limited access to finance, technical skills shortages and persistent gender stereotypes that continue to lock many women out of the industry.

Between 2023 and mid-2026, about 64,840 electric motorcyles were registered in Kenya, based on data from the Electric Mobility Association of Kenya.

But the Unep-Afema report indicates that although women make up between 23 and 38 per cent of employees in e-mobility companies that shared their workforce data, they account for less than five per cent of drivers. In the broader boda boda industry, which is more than 99 per cent male, only about 2.6 per cent of riders are women.

The disparity becomes even clearer when the focus shifts to individual electric mobility companies. The report cites GreenWheels Kenya, which partnered with Uber to launch an electric motorcycle option in 2023. As of August 2024, women accounted for just 0.5 per cent of its riders.

For the women who have entered the electric mobility sector, the benefits are tangible.

Violet, for instance, has spent more than 15 years in Kenya's transport sector. Now, she says, the electric motorcycle has changed the economics and the physical demands of her work.

She started out in the matatu industry before transitioning to motorcycle transport in 2016. Despite holding diplomas in computer studies, customer care and public relations, accounting and hospitality, she says she remained drawn to transport.

High running costs 

Before switching to an electric motorcycle, she operated petrol-powered motorcycles and later another model that relied on battery swapping. Both came with high running costs that ate into her daily earnings.

“I was using a bike that was taking around Sh1,800 to fuel a day. I also advanced to another one that I was swapping with around Sh600 a day,” she says. 

“You could not be able to save much,” she adds.

Today, her motorcycle can travel about 100 kilometres on a single charge and can be charged at home. The transition has slashed her operating costs, leaving more money in her pocket at the end of each day.

“If I buy tokens worth Sh1,000, they can last up to four weeks, even though I charge the battery every day for between one and one-and-a-half hours,” she says.

“Just do the maths. What used to cost me about Sh1,800 a day in fuel now costs less than Sh50 in electricity. The savings speak for themselves.”

The only expenses she incurs are occasional repairs, such as replacing a broken side mirror, and routine servicing, she says

“For four months now, I've spent anything on maintenance,” she says.

But the benefits go beyond money. For years, Violet endured the physical toll of riding conventional motorcycles through Nairobi's congested roads. 

“I had constant backaches,” she says. “This one is much smoother and less strenuous to ride. Because it's automatic, I don't have to keep balancing, changing gears or using the clutch all day.”

Balancing paid work with unpaid work

Charging the motorcycle from home has also given her greater flexibility to balance paid work and caregiving responsibilities.

“When I wake up at 5am, I get my son to school. We leave together,” she says. 

“By 10am, I'm back home. I wash, I do all the household chores and I cook supper. By the time I'm doing all this, the bike is charging.”

While Violet has found a way to balance paid work with unpaid care responsibilities, for Yvette Koki, the electric motorcycle has opened up possibilities she had almost given up on.

The business administration graduate spent years searching for formal employment after university, only to face repeated rejection.

“Everywhere I applied for a job, you get decline and decline and decline,” she says.

Her turning point came in 2024 when a community member introduced her to an organisation that sponsored her motorcycle riding training. 

“I wasn't sure about joining the transport industry,” she says. “But after struggling to find a job for years, I had reached one of the lowest points in my life and almost given up hope. So I decided to give it a chance, see what I could learn and whether I could build something for myself.”

Renewed hope

Today, she speaks with renewed hope. She, too, prefers parcel deliveries for the same reason as Violet.

The motorcycle, which she acquired earlier this year through the organisation, has given her a steady source of income and a reason to look ahead with optimism. The organisation paid the initial deposit, while Yvette now makes daily repayments of Sh630 and is expected to complete paying for the motorcycle within 24 months.

“Now, I’m saving through a sacco, and in two years, I believe I’ll be in a much better place. I expect to have raised enough capital to start whatever venture I choose,” she says.

She hopes to one day build a women-focused ride-hailing platform that connects female riders with customers while promoting safety and economic empowerment.

“I've been wanting to own an application, like Uber, but designed for women,” she says. “I want to support women in the industry and make sure they are safe.”

While women speak of newfound financial stability, electric motorcycles are also creating second chances for men.

Emmanuel Manyara says the motorcycle has given him an escape from the gruelling work of waste collection.

For two years, he worked long shifts collecting garbage, often leaving home in the morning and returning after midnight. 

The work, he says, was physically demanding, leaving little time for family or rest. Today, however, increased earnings from parcel deliveries have left him with more money in his pocket and more time to spend with his family and recover from the day's work.

“There was no time for myself. I had no day off. I worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he says.

In 2025, he resigned and, with support from his sister, started operating an electric boda boda. The change, he says, has given him much-needed breathing room.

Bridging the gap

With studies by Unep and Afema highlighting the barriers women face in the electric mobility sector, some organisations are stepping in to bridge the gap. 

One of them is Xolani Women of Hope, founded by Dorcas Nyamanya, which helps women from low-income communities access opportunities in the growing electric boda boda industry.

The biggest obstacle, however, is affordability, Dorcas says.

She says an electric motorcycle can cost more than Sh400,000, placing it beyond the reach of women from low-income households.

To overcome this barrier, she says, they work with partners to cover the initial deposit and negotiate repayment plans that allow women to acquire the motorcycles and pay for them in instalments.

But before purchasing the motorcycles, she says, they first assess whether the riders have reliable access to electricity at home. 

“Women prefer motorcycles that can be charged from home rather than relying on battery-swapping stations,” she says.

Dorcas says charging at home not only offers women greater flexibility but also results in substantial savings.

“It costs about Sh80 to charge a battery, and when the women riders can do it from home, they end up saving more money,” she says.

More savings

And the savings add up quickly.

“When you look at the statistics, what they used to spend when they were riding internal combustion engine motorcycles and what they are spending now, over 40 per cent of the expenses have been lifted,” says Dorcas.

Dorcas says parcel deliveries have opened up additional opportunities for women. 

“The women riders prefer deliveries because they often pay better than carrying passengers,” she says.

She now plans to expand beyond helping women acquire motorcycles to establishing a hybrid garage capable of servicing both conventional and electric motorcycles while creating additional employment opportunities for women.

“For me, the real joy comes from seeing the lives of women change. It’s great success when they can put food on the table and keep their children in school because of the electric motorcycle,” she says.