NopeaRide was an electric taxi service, the first of its kind in the country. The service came to a halt when its parent company EkoRent Oy from Finland, failed to raise additional funding to keep the company afloat.
EkoRent Africa, the subsidiary of the Finish company filed for bankruptcy in Kenya. NopeaRide as an EV tax service sought to bring an environmentally friendly push to the transportation industry. It was to raise the competition among various established brands like Uber and Bolt in the market. NopeaRide supplied vehicles to its drivers and had a network of charging systems available for their services. Drivers were allowed to work within a financial payment plan suitable for them.
EkoRent developed solutions for EVs through the use of solar energy something that is very favorable to the African terrain. This prompted the launch of NopeaRide in Kenya in 2018. The start-up grew from 3 vehicles to 70 by the time of closure with charging networks in place across Nairobi by 2019.
The company suffered from the pandemic. This was due to most work being done remotely from home. Funds raised this year were around €200,000 something that was a fraction of what they were raising at the early stages of the start-up through EEP Africa.
The company was getting back to numbers it was making pre-pandemic. These new legs of growth were brought about by working with other corporate institutions. This was not enough after EkoRent Oy, the parent filed for insolvency in Finland.
