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Ethiopian e-mobility startup Dodai has raised a $13 million Series A round to accelerate the rollout of its electric motorbike fleet and battery swapping network across Addis Ababa and other fast-growing urban markets across Africa.
The round comprises $8 million in equity and $5 million in debt, and includes participation from Value Chain Innovation Fund, IPC, Nagase, Persistent ACV Fund, For Seasons, CBC, and ICJ, alongside British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution.
With the new capital, Dodai aims to reach 3,000 battery swapping users supported by 30 battery swapping stations across Addis Ababa within the next 12 months. Over three years, the company is targeting 30,000 users and 1,000 battery swapping stations in the Ethiopian capital, before expanding into urban markets such as Abidjan, Kinshasa, Accra, and Dar es Salaam.
“This investment reflects growing confidence from international investors in our team’s ability to turn real-world challenges into opportunities to solve,” said Hilina Legesse, SVP and Head of Corporate, Dodai Group Inc.
Founded three years ago by Japanese entrepreneur and former Uber executive Yuma Sasaki, Dodai was built on the belief that “urban electric mobility should be accessible to everyone.” Headquartered in Addis Ababa, the company assembles and deploys electric motorbikes while operating battery swapping infrastructure to power clean, affordable transportation across urban markets.
Sasaki chose to build in Addis Ababa even when much of Africa’s startup ecosystem was concentrated in Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa because he saw the city offer an unmet demand for affordable transportation, a rapidly growing e-commerce sector, and a need for job creation. In three years, the company has locally assembled and deployed over 2,000 electric motorbikes and built a team of approximately 100 employees, with 97% of them being Ethiopian.
Its success can also be linked to a policy decision when Ethiopia became the first country to ban the import of fossil fuel-powered vehicles, signaling the shift towards electrification and reduction of fuel import costs. The ban has led to EV sales rising from less than 1% to nearly 6% by early 2026.
“From overnight assembly to building operations from the ground up, every constraint became something we chose to take on and solve with our team and partners on the ground. We will now accelerate and scale this impact even further,” Legesse added.
Leslie Maasdorp, CEO of British International Investment (BII) said, “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.”
“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. By expanding access to affordable transport, Dodai is empowering entrepreneurs, creating jobs, and helping build a stronger, more competitive urban economy in Ethiopia,” he added.
The Series A funding announced today comes after the company had raised $7 million in January 2026. Even though EV sales are up in the country, Ethiopia is plagued by limited charging infrastructure, and the funding will help Dodai overcome this barrier. In Japanese, Dodai means foundation, and it needs to be seen whether the company’s most significant fundraise to date becomes the foundation to become one of Africa’s most ambitious clean transport plays outside the traditional startup hubs.
