TELECOMS firm Telco Broadband plans to invest about US$4 million to roll out a nationwide electric vehicle (EV) charging and battery swapping network, positioning itself at the centre of Zimbabwe’s emerging electric motorbike market.
The funding, to be deployed through financial partners, follows Telco’s partnership with regional mobility provider, Beyond Mobility, and the national postal operator Zimpost. The collaboration will leverage Zimpost’s extensive footprint across the country.
In an interview with businessdigest this week, Telco operations director Ndabenhle Nkala said the company had already completed a proof of concept phase, installing six charging stations in Harare.
“Through our financial partners, we are planning to deploy about US$4 million over the next year,” Nkala said.
“We are just coming out of a US$350 000 proof of concept for the current six stations and 20 bikes that we had on the road. We have been running this fully-fledged for almost nine months. Now, based on the numbers and figures we have gathered, we are ready for a full launch.”
The move comes as government pushes to accelerate EV adoption through policy reforms introduced last year. Authorities reduced import duty on EVs from 40% to 25% and granted duty free rebates for approved solar powered charging equipment. Electric tractors were also exempted from customs duty.
Government also tightened compliance measures by scrapping Covid-19 duty waivers, requiring regulatory approval for EV charging equipment imports and mandating tax registration for informal vehicle dealers. The reforms aim to lower EV costs, attract investment and formalise the sector.
Under the agreement with Zimpost, Telco will use the postal operator’s 245 branches nationwide to host charging stations.
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“We are going to use their 245 sites to deploy stations. We are doing an infrastructure play — meaning we first need to roll out the equivalent of fuel stations around the country — and then have, hopefully, 500 bikes on the road by the end of 2026 to use those charging stations,” Nkala said.
Pilot tests conducted over the past two years found that many electric bike riders struggled to charge batteries at home due to persistent power outages.
“We have run tests over the last two years with electric bikes in Zimbabwe,” Nkala said, noting that unreliable grid supply underscored the need for decentralised charging infrastructure.
To address this, the company is introducing battery swapping technology, allowing riders to remove depleted batteries and exchange them for fully charged ones in under a minute.
Telco believes its experience in renewable energy gives it a competitive edge. Through its subsidiary, Telco Solar, the company has operated in the solar sector for nearly a decade.
“For the past nine years, we have been active in the solar sector. A key component of solar installations is lithium battery technology,” Nkala said.
“Over the last four years, we have developed deep expertise in lithium systems and leveraging solar for charging.”
