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Global Scramble for Battery Metals Intensifies as U.S., Chinese Firms Target Zambia’s $10 Billion Critical Minerals Market
Rising global demand for battery metals is reshaping investment flows into Africa, with U.S. and Chinese mining firms rapidly expanding their presence in Zambia.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- e-mobility, mining, renewable energy
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Dodai Closes $13 Million Series A to Scale E-Mobility in Ethiopia
Over the next 12 months, the company aims to reach 3,000 battery swapping users supported by 30 battery swapping stations across Addis Ababa.
- Region
- Global
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Three Questions for Five African Businesses: Insights from Sankalp Africa Summit’s ‘Enterprise Showcase’
The recent Sankalp Africa Summit featured an “Enterprise Showcase” where up-and-coming African businesses shared information about their work and missions. NextBillion interviewed five of these entrepreneurs and company representatives, asking each of them three questions: What are the main challenges you’re facing in running your business? What kind of support would help you overcome these challenges? And what’s one thing you wish funders understood about your business needs? Their responses reveal some of the innovative approaches and key issues that are emerging in Africa’s vibrant ecosystem of small and medium-sized enterprises.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Social Enterprise, Transportation, WASH
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Viewpoint: Are Tech Solutions Fixing Mobility in African Cities or Just Masking the Problem?
Ride-hailing and mobility apps do not build roads. They do not expand rail systems or redesign cities. Instead, they optimize access to what already exists.
- Categories
- Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Skoot Technology Launches Smart Electric Tuk-Tuk In Kenya
The Skoot e3W runs on SUN Mobility’s battery swapping network. Drivers use swappable batteries instead of charging, allowing them to replace depleted batteries in minutes and return to the road.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology, Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Zimbabwe Bans All Raw Mineral Exports
Africa’s largest lithium producer — whose stores make up 4.4% of global reserves — is a major supplier to China, which leads the world in refining the battery metal. But like other African countries, Zimbabwe is increasingly keen to maximize the value of its minerals by processing them at home before exporting.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Spiro Secures $50 Million to Boost African Expansion
Spiro, Africa’s electric mobility leader and battery swapping pioneer, today announced the raising of $50 million in debt funding from Afreximbank and two new investors Nithio and Africa Go Green Fund managed by Cygnum Capital. The new funding follows Spiro’s landmark $100 million investment in October 2025, which became Africa's largest-ever electric mobility investment.
- Categories
- Energy, Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Electric Vehicle Sales Boom as Ethiopia Bans Fossil-Fuel Car Imports
The East African country is making use of cheap hydropower and Chinese electric vehicles to ditch the internal combustion engine.
- Categories
- Energy, Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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