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Electric mobility in Africa is advancing, led by local innovations like Burkina Faso’s solar EV and Nigeria’s Innoson. These efforts mark a shift from consumption to production. The challenge is scaling with value addition, infrastructure, and policy. Acorn & Partners supports this transition through data, strategy, and ecosystem development.
Electric mobility is no longer a question of if, but who leads, and how.
In March, Burkina Faso quietly marked a moment of significance. The country unveiled what it described as its first locally built electric vehicle; not in Morocco, not in South Africa, but in a landlocked Sahelian nation often overlooked in global conversations on industrial innovation. The ITAOUA car, designed with solar panels and advanced batteries, purportedly offers a 330 km range after just 30 minutes of charging.
It matters. But perhaps not only for the reasons headlines suggest.
Much of the commentary focused on symbolism, but what’s more compelling is the substance: a sign that African countries are not just participating in the EV transition; they’re shaping it. The conversation no longer begins with whether Africa can, but how it already is.
Burkina Faso’s EV debut, and Nigeria’s momentum through brands like Innoson, signal a broader shift already in motion: a move beyond consumption toward contribution, design, and production. That’s not theory; it’s industrial policy in motion.
The key challenge now is scale and structure. If electric vehicles are assembled solely from imported kits, with limited domestic value addition, we risk replicating old extractive patterns. But the signs point in a better direction, where EV platforms can become anchors for energy security, skilled jobs, and resilient, tech-enabled economies.
Take Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM), Nigeria’s first and largest indigenous vehicle manufacturer. Since its founding in 2007, Innoson has produced a range of vehicles from its base in Anambra State, with a stated commitment to sourcing 70% of its components locally. In September 2024, the company unveiled its first electric vehicle, the IVM EX02. The initial batch sold out ahead of release, backed by strong domestic demand and supported by local service infrastructure in Abuja, Lagos, and Enugu.
This isn’t speculative; it is domestic capability being built and commercialised.
With over 40% of the world’s critical minerals on the continent, it’s true strategic edge lies in controlling what happens next: cell manufacturing, battery reuse, integrated with end-of-life recycling to recover critical minerals for sustainable energy systems, vehicle assembly, charging networks, circular supply chains and urban logistics.
Elsewhere, regional partnerships are taking shape, from West African battery corridor proposals to shared charging infrastructure models in East Africa, showing that scale is not only national, but continental.
Between 2024 and 2029, the EV charging market in Africa and the Middle East is expected to more than double, from USD 162.5 million to USD 380.7 million (a CAGR of 18.6%) (source) (1). In South Africa, new energy vehicle (NEV) adoption is accelerating, with BYD planning to nearly triple its dealership footprint by 2026 (source) (2).
But demand still faces friction: unstable power supply, limited charging infrastructure, and high import duties on EVs relative to traditional cars. These are solvable challenges, but only if the growth of EVs is embedded in a broader strategy of infrastructure readiness and industrial learning.
At Acorn & Partners, we see electric mobility not as an end in itself, but as a platform for long-term, resilient growth. Our work sits at the intersection of decision-grade intelligence (data-driven market insights), market structuring, and policy execution, supporting investors, governments, and operators in building ecosystems that last.
We recognise the opportunity is real and growing, and we’re committed to scaling what’s working, bridging structural gaps, and transitioning momentum into systemic change.
If you’re mapping the terrain, shaping outcomes, or navigating uncertainty, we welcome the conversation.
https://www.researchandmarkets.com/report/africa-electric-vehicle-charging-station-market