{"id":28726,"date":"2026-06-19T08:56:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T07:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tonyelumelufoundation.org\/?p=28726"},"modified":"2026-06-19T09:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T08:54:08","slug":"meet-richard-building-rwandas-electric-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tonyelumelufoundation.org\/fr\/alumni\/east-african-alumni\/meet-richard-building-rwandas-electric-future","title":{"rendered":"RENCONTREZ RICHARD, L'ARTISAN DE L'AVENIR \u00c9LECTRIQUE DU RWANDA"},"content":{"rendered":"

HE WATCHED <\/strong>RIDERS<\/strong> LOSE HALF THEIR INCOME TO FUEL. NOW HE’S BUILDING RWANDA’S ELECTRIC FUTURE.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Every day, Richard Ngoga<\/a> watched motorcycle taxi riders work long hours only to lose a significant portion of their earnings to fuel costs.<\/p>\n

For many riders, fuel consumed between 40 and 60 per cent of their daily income, making it difficult to build financial stability despite the growing demand for transport services.<\/p>\n

Rather than accept this as an unavoidable reality, Richard saw an opportunity.<\/p>\n

He envisioned a solution that could reduce operating costs for riders while helping Rwanda<\/a> move towards a cleaner, more sustainable transport system.<\/p>\n

That vision became Volt<\/strong>, an electric mobility company dedicated to making electric transportation accessible, practical, and affordable for Rwandans.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Build<\/strong><\/p>\n

Building an electric mobility business meant introducing a new way of thinking about transportation in a market dominated by petrol-powered motorcycles.<\/p>\n

Richard focused on developing a model that addressed the everyday realities of riders. Instead of simply selling electric motorcycles, Volt adopted a Battery-as-a-Service<\/strong> model, allowing riders to swap batteries instantly and continue working without lengthy charging times.<\/p>\n

The approach combined locally relevant engineering, flexible financing options and dependable after-sales support, ensuring that riders could transition to electric mobility without disrupting their livelihoods.<\/p>\n

The early stages demanded resilience, resourcefulness, and constant learning.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding Volt from an idea to an operational business with paying riders has required resilience, resourcefulness, and a strong belief in the mission,”<\/em> Richard Ngoga<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the biggest challenges was perception.<\/p>\n

Many riders assumed electric motorcycles would be expensive, unreliable, or difficult to maintain. Convincing operators to embrace a new technology required more than promises; it required proof.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Richard and his team focused on demonstrating immediate value.<\/p>\n

When riders saw that their daily operating costs could be significantly lower than fuel expenses from the very first day, scepticism began to fade.<\/p>\n

The business also faced the challenge of meeting strict safety and regulatory requirements. To build trust with riders and authorities alike, Volt invested in UN38.3-certified batteries<\/strong>, meeting internationally recognised safety and environmental standards.<\/p>\n

These decisions helped establish credibility and laid the groundwork for sustainable growth.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Tony Elumelu Foundation Moment<\/strong><\/p>\n

Richard\u2019s participation in the 2023 Programme d'entrepreneuriat de la Fondation Tony Elumelu<\/strong><\/a> provided a valuable framework for building the business.<\/p>\n

Beyond seed capital, the programme challenged him to think about sustainability, scalability and financial viability as interconnected goals rather than separate priorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe programme helped me see that building a clean energy business in Africa is not just environmentally responsible, it is commercially smart,”<\/em><\/p>\n

The mentorship, business training and network of fellow entrepreneurs across Africa also proved invaluable during the company\u2019s formative stages.<\/p>\n

Through The Tony Elumelu Foundation, Richard gained the confidence to position Volt not simply as a transport company, but as a long-term infrastructure business helping to shape the future of mobility in Rwanda.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Impact<\/strong><\/p>\n

The results are already visible on the streets of Kigali.<\/p>\n

Since launching, Volt has deployed more than 100 electric motorcycles<\/strong>, helping reduce dependence on fuel-powered transportation while promoting cleaner urban mobility.<\/p>\n

The company has also created 15 jobs<\/strong>, contributing to economic opportunity alongside environmental impact.<\/p>\n

In 2025, Volt achieved several significant milestones, including launching its first battery swap station in Remera, Kigali, deploying its first fleet of electric motorcycles and onboarding more than 28 paying riders<\/strong>, generating over 1.2 million RWF in monthly mobile money revenue within just three months<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Volt is now scaling rapidly, with plans to expand from its current fleet to 250 riders by the end of the year<\/strong> and extend operations across all provinces of Rwanda by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n

Every electric motorcycle on the road represents more than a business transaction; it represents lower operating costs for riders, reduced emissions and progress towards Rwanda\u2019s vision for a cleaner transport future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Lesson<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Richard, sustainability is not a marketing message. It is the foundation of the business itself.<\/p>\n

As fuel prices continue to rise and countries across Africa pursue cleaner transport solutions, he believes the most resilient businesses will be those that align commercial success with solving real societal challenges.<\/p>\n

His advice to young entrepreneurs is simple:<\/p>\n

“Do not treat sustainability as a marketing label. Treat it as a design principle. Build it into how you make money, not just how you talk about your business.”<\/em><\/p>\n

By helping riders earn more while reducing emissions, Volt is proving that clean mobility is not just possible; it is already happening.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HE WATCHED RIDERS LOSE HALF THEIR INCOME TO FUEL. NOW HE’S BUILDING RWANDA’S ELECTRIC FUTURE. Every day, Richard Ngoga watched motorcycle taxi riders work long hours only to lose a significant portion of their earnings to fuel costs. For many riders, fuel consumed between 40 and 60 per cent of their daily income, making it …<\/p>","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":28727,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[368,335],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-african-alumni","category-tef-testimonials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tonyelumelufoundation.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tonyelumelufoundation.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tonyelumelufoundation.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonyelumelufoundation.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonyelumelufoundation.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28726"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonyelumelufoundation.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28734,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonyelumelufoundation.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28726\/revisions\/28734"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonyelumelufoundation.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tonyelumelufoundation.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonyelumelufoundation.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonyelumelufoundation.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}