Ethiopia-based Dodai raises $13 million to expand battery-swapping EV network

Dodai, an Ethiopian-based electric mobility company that focuses on electric two-wheelers, has closed its $13 million Series A funding round to expand its electric motorbike and battery-swapping network across Addis Ababa. 

The round includes $8 million in equity and $5 million in debt, with participation from Value Chain Innovation Fund, UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Nagase, Persistent Energy, For Seasons, CBC Co., Ltd, Inclusion Japan (ICJ), and debt financing from British International Investment (BII).

The funding comes as Ethiopia positions itself as one of Africa’s most aggressive electric vehicle markets. In 2024, the government banned the import of private internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and expanded that ban to include gasoline and diesel trucks in 2025.

That policy has accelerated adoption, with the country now recording around 100,000 electric vehicles on its roads, according to its Ministry of Transport and Logistics.

“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,” said Leslie Maasdorp, CEO of British International Investment (BII). “BII’s investment will support Dodai to scale critical e-mobility and battery-swapping infrastructure, and accelerate the development of a commercial market for electric motorbikes.”

Founded in 2023 by Sasaki, Dodai locally assembles electric motorbikes and batteries, and operates a battery-swapping infrastructure that allows drivers to replace depleted batteries.

The company, which raised $7 million in 2024, is building a model in a market attracting competition from local and Chinese manufacturers like the Belayneh Kinde Group (BKG) and Yadea.

Dodai is betting on its integrated model of combining local assembly with battery-swapping infrastructure to reduce charging friction for riders. Since its launch, the company said it has locally assembled and deployed over 2,000 electric motorbikes.

Dodai’s new funding will be used to scale its battery-swapping and e-bike network, as the company aims to set up 30 battery-swapping stations across Addis Ababa and reach 3,000 users over the next 12 months.

“This funding will help take us from early traction to real scale,” said Yuma Sasaki, CEO and Founder of Dodai. “We’ve proven the model in Addis Ababa—now we’re building the network and infrastructure needed to make electric mobility the default.”

Over the next three years, the company plans to scale to 30,000 users and 1,000 battery-swapping stations across Addis Ababa, before expanding into cities like Abidjan, Kinshasa, Accra, Dar es Salaam, and Cairo from 2028, exporting its model to other high-growth urban markets across the continent.

“We chose Ethiopia because that’s where the opportunity to build from first principles really exists,” said Sasaki. “This raise allows us to double down on that bet—and show what the future of mobility in African cities can look like.”