E-Mobility is future of Africa’s transportation — CEO, Cubica Energy

The CEO of Cubica Energy, Lesley Arthur, has said the e-mobility sector is poised to take over traditional means of transportation on the continent in the next decade.

She said for Africa to maintain parity with the developed world in the advent of e-mobility, her outfit will play a pivotal role in creating awareness about the efficacy and environmental friendliness of electric vehicles, scooters, buses, bicycles, tricycles and trains.

“We seek to ensure that Africa will not be left behind this time in this new initiative and developing industry of EV mobility vehicles,” she stated.

Ms Arthur said this at the maiden EV Revolution Africa Mobility International Conference held in Accra.

Her outfit Energy Quest Foundation, a subsidiary of Cubica Energy, organised the event which is an inaugural programme on e-mobility.

She noted that e-mobility will propel the energy and transportation sectors of the country to a greener environment while creating awareness of the emergence of the industry in the country.

She added that Ghana can reap the needed economic benefits from EV vehicles while achieving the required carbon objectives for a cleaner environment.

Government commits

The Deputy Minister for Energy, John Sanie for his part said the government will create the right environment and the necessary infrastructure to ensure the viability of e-mobility and make it a reality in the country.

“Ghana is suitable for the introduction of Plug-in Electric Vehicle (PEVS) and the government has set out a waiver of import duties on EVs designated for public transportation for eight years,” he stated.

He said the government will scale up the four EV level two charging stations currently in Accra to other regions and work assiduously to reduce the cost of EV vehicles.

“Electric vehicles represent the future of transportation which is already with us, we have no choice but to step up and be counted,’ he stated.

Private sector

A former CEO and chairman of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Kweku Awotwi charged the private sector to lead the EV revolution by creating the avenue for  entrepreneurs to collaborate  and advocate for both local and foreign partners to realise  an e-mobility industry in the country.

“ Africa is the fastest growing demographic and it is predicted to reach 1.5 billion in population in 2050. This calls for the need for mobility solutions; companies must look at manufacturing e-mobility locally and collaboration is key in the private sector,” he stated.

He entreated local e-mobility companies to overlook the bureaucracy in the government sector and create a synergy for an effective take off of the e-mobility industry.

Incentives

The United Nations Resident Coordinator, Charles Abani called on the government to offer incentives to companies in the e-mobility business to encourage them to make affordable vehicles to ensure motorists flip to environmentally friendly vehicles.

He encouraged the training of Ghanaian youth in electronic mobility to foster a faster understanding of the industry among the youth.

“Building of skills through educational outfits such as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, (STEM) is an opportunity to inculcate in the youth the emergence of e-mobility vehicles.

He further revealed that the electronic vehicle market is expected to reach 1.5 trillion in a decade and challenged Ghana to take advantage of the growth of the e-mobility industry to create its own industry.