PIC CAPTION: Thebean Gilfillian, co-founder of Mbay Mobility envisions his electric vehicle startup becoming one of Africa's clean transport leaders with their innovative fintech platform aimed at reducing air pollution. Image: Supplied / Mbay Mobility
Mbay Mobility, a Senegalese e-mobility startup is determined to become one of Africa’s leading clean transport leaders. Mbay Mobility co-founder Thebean Gilfillian chats to AfricArena’s Jabulile Sonya Ngwenya about his startup’s bold ambitions and how his team is committed to providing a solution through their fintech platform that will reduce air pollution in Dakar, one of West Africa’s top startup ecosystem, cut down 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, provide $25 million worth of annual health benefits and $15 million in time savings per year.
“At Mbay Mobility, our mission is to deploy electric vehicles (EVs) rapidly and at scale in West Africa, contributing to a cleaner environment. Through our fintech solution, we offer flexible financing options that make purchasing our EVs affordable and the financial benefits of EV’s accessible to mobility entrepreneurs, drivers and consumers.”
While the major markets for EVs are concentrated in China, Europe and the USA, Africa is becoming one of the fastest growing markets for EVs, with the continent’s electric vehicle market currently valued at $15.8 billion and projected to reach $25.4 billion by 2029, which makes it a very exciting market.
Gilfillian, who has a background in economics, shares that he was motivated to join the startup as a co-founder after doing some consulting work with Matthew Sellar, who initially came up with the core idea for Mbay Mobility as a result of his personal experiences with traffic and pollution in Dakar,“ because Mbay’s solution benefits everyone impacted by the mobility ecosystem.”
Anyone who has visited Dakar, one of West Africa’s top startup ecosystem cities, can testify to Dakar’s poor air quality and traffic congestion. The beauty of Mbay Mobility, Gilfillian says, is that it gives everyone hope. “Drivers gain easier access to being their own boss and to better working conditions. We give the general population a route to becoming a mobility sector investor with increased profit potential. The wider population benefits from a cleaner environment and improved travel condition,” says Gilfillian. “The only entities that don't gain are the incumbent banks and car dealers that resist innovation. However, we plan to collaborate with these institutions to help them embrace the new era of mobility and accelerate progress toward clean mobility, we can all go further and faster together.”
Mbay Mobility launched in 2023 and Gilfillian says while they were not affected by the covid pandemic, he was leading finance for a West African solar home system startup in the middle of a fundraising drive. “This experience taught me the importance of proactive communication with stakeholders and building a strong company culture focused on customers and the company mission. These lessons were crucial for managing through the crisis and have been integrated into our approach at Mbay Mobility.”
He says in the beginning, he and his co-founder invested $30,000 of their own funds into the startup to purchase their first test car, charging equipment and finance startup opex. In addition, Gilfillian recalls they won a $75,000 grant from the Dutch government for the training of 22 EV mechanics, and a $20,000 grant from the Rockefeller Institute for the installation of a solar-powered EV charging station.
He mentions that Mbay Mobility has raised $270,000 so far and 90% of these funds were used to purchase stock for sale and to deploy charging infrastructure. This, he says, “is a testament to the level of capital efficiency we are targeting as we scale.”
He shares that Mbay Mobility is focused on raising $500,000 by the end of 2024 and eighty-five percent of these funds will go towards the purchase of inventory and deploying charging infrastructure. The remaining will be invested in software development and strengthening partnerships.”
Mbay Mobility’s most recent business achievement, Gilfillian says, is closing a $150,000 equity investment from a strategic investor. This investment, he says, “will allow us to finance the sale of 16 vehicles on our core three-year financing model and install public-charging infrastructure.”
Building an EV startup is incredibly hard, especially in the midst of a funding winter. It is not easy - it is a challenging environment to work in and requires stamina, endurance and passion. What inspires Gilfillian to continue pressing in building his startup is “the challenge of building a living, breathing ‘organism’ that generates value for all stakeholders: customers, investors, employees, partners and the general public. The pursuit of that ah-ha moment, where you can step back and watch what you have built, operate, adapt and succeed autonomously gets me out of bed in the morning.”
“One of the biggest challenges in our environment is the lack of clear and accessible information, both government and regulatory,” Gilfillian tells AfricArena. “This lack of information means that a simple process can take months versus weeks. Perseverance and tenacity, are the only ways forward, while the importance of building a wide network, especially within the government and local authorities, can’t be overstated.”
“Networking helps to navigate these complexities more efficiently and gain insights that are not readily available, allowing us to expedite processes and make informed decisions.”
Not to mention, the funding winter has hit the EV market pretty hard, but this didn’t deter Mbay Mobility from continuing to make strides within the Senegalese EV market. “We navigated the funding winter by raising funds from angel investors, which shielded us from the volatility affecting the traditional VC ecosystem. Our investor base is composed mainly of individuals we connected with through professional networks. Matt's efforts in marketing the company on LinkedIn played a significant role in attracting these investors. Unlike institutional investors, who are heavily influenced by macroeconomic factors, angel investors make decisions based on the merits of the project, their personal connection to the mission, and their individual financial situations. This approach allowed us to raise funds and grow despite broader market challenges.”
Gilfillian shares that one of the best pieces of advice he received from a mentor was to “talk about your idea as much as possible; to be sure that others are also frustrated by the problem you’ve identified, and that the solution you’ve come up with is one they would like to use, and once you’ve confirmed all that there’s a clear value-proposition, get going!”
He recalls the moment when he and Sellar knew there was a need within the market for their product. “The first moment was calculating the substantial savings generated by switching from traditional combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles. I knew the benefits in theory, but seeing the 70% savings generated and the potential for customers to triple commercial income made our solution’s value very concrete.”
He adds, “since then, there have been other moments highlighting the importance of our work, not just for our direct clients but for all of our stakeholders. Meeting parents of children with asthma who are thrilled by Mbay’s contribution to cleaner air, speaking to taxi drivers who work over 12 hours a day excited about the concept of working less and earning more is incredibly rewarding and seeing hardworking customers, who have been rejected for loans by banks, thrilled by the opportunity for an affordable investment and extra income are powerful reminders of why we do what we do.”
Looking to the future of West Africa’s EV market, and the vast opportunities within Africa’s EV market, Gilfillian says, “At Mbay our goal is to deploy electric vehicles at speed and scale in West Africa. By the end of the year we aim to be financially self-sustainable and ready to scale the financial and operational infrastructure required to satisfy the market demand.”
He ends the interview with wise words of advice for anyone wanting to launch an EV startup: “You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes the most valuable innovations are slight improvements on the modus operandi. At Mbay, we have found the key to increasing market size by bringing a handful of innovations to an established sector and incorporating technology that allows us to execute efficiently and at low costs.”
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