The Micro-Mobility Uphill Battle in Africa!

Did you know that cycling in Africa is not considered as a means of public transport? It is rather largely regarded as a mobility option for the poor across the entire continent! That was until GURARIDE setup base in the heart of Africa – Rwanda.

While Africa is the least greenhouse gas emitting continent in the world, it remains the most vulnerable land to climate change impacts under all climate scenarios above 1.5 degrees Celsius. With agriculture representing a large share of Africa’s GDP and 95% of its farming activities relying on rainfall, it is an alarming threat of the imminent socio-economic and health catastrophes gearing up to strike our continent. As so often reported, due to high population growth and increased urbanization, fossil fuel transportation and ICE based mobility are leading sources of emissions in Africa and elsewhere. Therefore, the provision of non-motorized green/micro-mobility transport options is the ultimate pathway that will allow Africa to gravitate towards green and sustainable economies at a much faster pace.

Introducing GURARIDE (guraride.com); a public bike-share transport company committed to the sustainability of micro-mobility in Africa starting with Rwanda. Our aim is to facilitate the transition from fossil fuel based mobility to other non-pollutant transport alternatives.

Contrary to popular opinion, our experience has proven that cycling and micro-mobility in Africa can be viable public transport solutions for all including the middle/high income classes. For the past 5 years operating in Rwanda, we have demonstrated that the adoption of non-motorized transport is a key factor in offsetting carbon footprints, boosting eco-consciousness, creating green jobs, overhauling fuel dependency, reducing overburdened infrastructure and traffic congestion, improving health standards through exercise-based cycling, and revolutionizing women involvement in the transport industry. ?

Ten months in after the successful launch of our commercial operations, GURARIDE has amassed up to 31,203 app downloads with well over 85 thousand completed rides and a staggering 27% women involvement rate in cycling activities with just 100 bikes on-ground.

Keen on emulating global industry leaders in pioneering smart micro-mobility, we came to a conclusion that it is almost impossible to imagine a smart city without smart mobility such as 21st century tech resilient bike-share schemes.

Established as the only non-motorized public transport alternative in Kigali, GURARIDE public bike-share scheme has triggered the ability to view the Rwandan capital through a smart cities' lens for both public institutions and private sector federations as they lay out plans for the city’s future.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Infrastructure, the City of Kigali, and other relevant government agencies, the scheme has contributed in the creation of more car free zones, participated in road safety planning, and advised on inclusive public infrastructure planning.

To date, the public bike-share service has been optimized into a multimodal scheme to increase its scalability to other districts in the country while servicing diverse consumer profiles to enable users to choose their commuting preferences. ?

Our long term commitment to revolutionizing the transport industry in Africa through the introduction of multimodal bikeshare schemes dictates that we invest efforts and resources in changing the misconceptions around cycling and the way our people perceives micro-mobility across the continent.

The question remains; why is cycling believed to be an option for the poor in Africa while bike-sharing is reaching its pinnacle growth globally with a market share expected to rise to $6.98 billion by 2027? Perhaps addressing this question at all levels of our societies holds the entire fate of micro-mobility and bike-share schemes across Africa.