BII funds electric mobility in Ethiopia as it targets ‘frontier markets’ under Maasdorp
Leslie Maasdorp, Hilina Legesse and British Embassy Addis Ababa development director Amanda McLoughlin
28th April 2026
By: Irma Venter
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor
UK development finance institution British International Investment (BII) has committed $5-million in debt financing to Ethiopia’s Dodai as part of the company’s $13-million Series A round.
A Series A round is a startup’s first significant round of institutional venture capital financing, typically raised after initial seed funding to scale operations, grow the team and build a sustainable business model.
Dodai is an electric mobility company that assembles and deploys electric motorbikes and operates battery-swapping infrastructure.
Since launching three years ago, the company has deployed more than 2 000 electric motorbikes and built a team of about 100 employees, the majority of whom are Ethiopian.
This latest funding will support Dodai in scaling its electrical mobility and battery-swapping infrastructure in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
Over the next 12 months, the company aims to reach 3 000 battery-swapping users, supported by 30 stations across Addis Ababa.
Within three years, Dodai plans to scale to 30 000 users and 1 000 battery-swapping stations in the city, before expanding into other major African cities in other countries, such as Abidjan, Kinshasa, Accra and Dar es Salaam.
“Ethiopia is emerging as one of Africa’s most compelling frontier markets for the clean mobility transition, where the right capital can unlock outsized impact and long-term value,” says BII CEO Leslie Maasdorp.
“I am delighted that the UK – through BII – is supporting the acceleration of the rollout of electric motorbikes and battery-swapping infrastructure here in Ethiopia,” adds UK ambassador to Ethiopia Darren Welch.
“As the world looks forward to COP32 being hosted in Ethiopia, the UK is delighted to be supporting Ethiopia’s climate leadership, including through supporting the expansion of clean, affordable transport both here in Addis Ababa and across the continent,” he comments.
“In just two years, we have deployed over 2 000 electric motorcycles, enabling more than 2 000 riders to earn a living,” notes Dodai senior VP Hilina Legesse.
“We will now accelerate and scale this impact even further.”
The Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator (ARIA) has played a critical role in supporting the investment process by offering market insights and on-the-ground support to BII and Dodai.
ARIA is a collaborative initiative launched by BII and co-funded with two other development finance partners, FMO (the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank) and Proparco, to boost investment in frontier markets in Africa.
It also aligns with BII’s new strategy for 2026 to 2031 and its target to commit at least 25% of its new investments to frontier markets – those identified by the UN as least developed countries – where private sector investment remains scarce.
Also, BII is committed to investing at least 40% of its new investments in climate finance.
Maasdorp should be well-known to South Africans in the finance sector.
Over the past 25 years, he held senior leadership positions at global financial institutions, including serving as international advisor to Goldman Sachs, vice chairperson of Barclays Capital and president of Bank of America Merrill Lynch in South Africa.
In the early years of South Africa’s democratic era, he held key roles in government as special advisor to the labour minister and was the deputy director general responsible for the restructuring of State-owned enterprises. He was appointed to the BII in 2024. 