Deal lets jobless Kenyans own e-scooters, start delivery businesses

Agilitee’s LoadRun electric scooter, one of the models set to be deployed under a partnership with Store2Door to help entrepreneurs enter the last-mile delivery business. [Courtesy]

Unemployed people could enter Africa’s last-mile delivery business without paying a deposit under a new model that will finance electric scooters through future earnings.

The model will allow aspiring entrepreneurs to acquire delivery scooters through 100 per cent financing, start earning from deliveries and repay the cost from their income.

The first 200 electric scooters are scheduled for deployment on October 28 under a 10-year partnership between electric vehicle maker Agilitee and e-commerce and delivery platform Store2Door.

The initiative will also allow existing entrepreneurs to open online stores, with the platform handling sales and deliveries while vehicle owners can hire drivers to serve local businesses.

“This is a great opportunity for our people as Africa is struggling with a high rate of unemployment. Through this opportunity, we will create a lot of entrepreneurs and also support existing ones. It will also create a lot of driver jobs,” says Owethu Ngxanzana, general manager, special projects at Agilitee Africa.

Ngxanzana explains that the financing model aims to remove the upfront cost that often prevents people from starting businesses.

“We are giving 100 per cent financing because we know how hard things are for our people. This alone makes the entry for public participation easy,” she notes.

Under the arrangement, an aspiring entrepreneur identifies a local store and offers to provide delivery services using an electric scooter.

Store2Door then onboards the store onto its e-commerce platform while Agilitee provides the scooter on credit. The owner-operator can then hire drivers to make deliveries.

The initial fleet will comprise Agilitee’s LoadRun and LoadStar electric scooters, which the company says can travel up to 180 kilometres on a single charge.

The two companies will train participants before they begin operations. Agilitee will train owner-operators and drivers to operate the electric scooters and battery-swapping machines, while Store2Door will train store staff on its ordering platform and drivers on its delivery system.

Store2Door will also train owner-operators on its business dashboard.

The model will target both new and existing entrepreneurs as the companies expand the initiative through activations and training programmes.

“For existing entrepreneurs, they can open a store on our platform and we will handle their sales and deliveries. We are very excited about this venture as it will revolutionise the industry,” Ngxanzana adds.

Agilitee management says the partnership combines electric mobility with e-commerce and last-mile delivery while giving participants a route to vehicle and business ownership.

“For eight years, Agilitee has pioneered green mobility in Africa. With LoadRun and LoadStar delivering 180km per charge, and with Store2Door, we are not just delivering goods, we are delivering ownership,” the company says.

The first 200 scooters are expected to be deployed on October 28 as part of the partnership launch.