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Ampersand
Transportation · Kigali City, Rwanda · Founded 2014
Electric motorcycle fleet and battery swapping network MoreLess
Ampersand is an electric vehicle energy technology company founded by Joshua Whale in 2016. It started as a research and development garage project in Kigali, Rwanda, and has since expanded its operations to Kenya, with a team of over 500 employees. The company's first electric motorcycles were launched in May 2019.
Ampersand provides electric motorcycles, known as 'e-motos', and a network of battery swap stations primarily for motorcycle taxi drivers in East Africa. The business model is centered on a battery-as-a-service system, where drivers can lease batteries and exchange depleted ones for fully charged units at swap stations in under two minutes. This pay-as-you-go model makes the total cost of ownership cheaper than for traditional petrol motorcycles by saving drivers an estimated 45% on fuel and maintenance, which can increase their daily income.
The company's offerings include the 'Alpha' electric motorcycle, proprietary smart battery packs assembled in-house, and the 'AmperOps' fleet management software. This software, along with a driver app, allows for real-time monitoring of batteries, locating swap stations, and managing payments. Ampersand's system gathers numerous data points from the batteries to optimize their lifespan using predictive AI. To further its sustainability goals, Ampersand has started integrating solar power into its battery-swap stations.
Ampersand has secured significant funding from various investors, including Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Beyond Capital Ventures, and AHL Venture Partners. It has also formed strategic partnerships, notably with BYD for the supply of battery cells, aiming to produce 40,000 electric motorcycles by the end of 2026. The company aims to deploy 600,000 e-motos by 2030 and support one million vehicles through its swap stations.
Keywords: electric motorcycles, battery swapping, e-mobility, Africa, EV energy, transport solution, pay-as-you-go, fleet management software, sustainable transport, clean energy, boda boda, motorcycle taxi, Rwanda, Kenya, battery-as-a-service, EV infrastructure, last-mile delivery, vehicle leasing, AmperOps, smart batteries, renewable energy integration
Company overview
Ampersand company information
The essential company record, classifications and operating signals in one place.
- Status
- Operational
- Founded
- 2014
- Headquarters
- Kigali City, Rwanda
- Employees
- 297
- Open positions
- 2
- Dealroom signal
- 85.0
Valuation & funding
Ampersand funding history
Company financing events and reported valuations.
| Deal type | Date | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LATE VC✓Equity / VC | Oct 2025 | $0 | — | Undisclosed | ↗ |
| DEBT✓Debt | Oct 2025 | $0 | — | British International Investment | ↗ |
| LATE VC✓Equity / VC | Aug 2025 | $7M | $98M | Seedstars · Acumen · Rwanda Green Fund · British International Investment | ↗ |
| EARLY VC✓Equity / VC | Aug 2024 | $2M | $98M | Everstrong Capital · AHL Venture Partners · Beyond Capital Ventures | ↗ |
| EARLY VC✓Equity / VC | Feb 2024 | $0 | — | Beyond Capital Ventures | ↗ |
| DEBT✓Debt | Dec 2023 | AfricaGoGreen Fund | ↗ | ||
| EARLY VC✓Equity / VC | Dec 2023 | Acumen · Hard Edged Hope Foundation · Societe Petroliere · Ecosystem Integrity Fund | ↗ | ||
| DEBT✓Debt | Nov 2021 | U.S. International Development Finance Corporation | — | ||
| SERIES A✓Equity / VC | Apr 2021 | Ecosystem Integrity Fund | — | ||
| GRANTOther financing | Jul 2020 | Shell Foundation | — |
Financials
Workforce over time
Available workforce history. Financial fields without reported data are omitted.
| Year | Employees |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 306 |
| 2025 | 286 |
| 2024 | 222 |
| 2023 | 107 |
| 2022 | 44 |
| 2021 | 38 |
| 2020 | 16 |
Growth signals
Ampersand website traffic
Latest recorded traffic for Ampersand is 7.7K monthly website visits, up 10% over the last three months. Ampersand's team grew 3.8% over the past year.
Hiring
Open positions at Ampersand
Current openings linked to this company in Dealroom.
Comparisons
Ampersand compared with similar companies
Dealroom’s weighted taxonomy model identifies the closest operating peers. Company identity and context stay open; selected comparison metrics preview what is available in the platform.
| Company | Headquarters | Status | Employees | Total funding | Valuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 SwobbeeMicromobility battery swapping and charging station network |
Berlin, Germany | Operational | 27 | $8.4M | $33M |
 Voltz MotorsUnlocking cities with intelligent and conscious mobility |
Camaragibe, Brazil | Operational | |||
 GogoroImproves how the world’s most populated cities distribute and utilize energy |
Taoyuan City, Taiwan | Operational | |||
 PowerswapAutomatic Battery Swap Technology for Electric Vehicles Eliminates he need for Long Charging Times |
Täby, Sweden | Operational | |||
 Open MotorsThe first modular & open self-driving electric vehicle |
Palo Alto, United States | Closed | |||
 4SB MobilitySolution for urban EV owners with limited access to charging: an attachable, swappable ‘top-up’ battery |
Dundee, United Kingdom | Operational | |||
 Evi TechnologiesIndia’s EV Charging- as-a-Service network |
India | Operational | |||
 AmpereElectric mobility solutions |
Coimbatore, India | Acquired |
Talent graph
Ampersand's talent
Source: Dealroom Talent Intelligence.
Investors
24 investors on Ampersand's cap table
Sourced from Dealroom's funding and investor records.
![Factor[e] Ventures logo](https://storage.googleapis.com/dealroom-images-production/2026/08/13/413df51d6f10c2911947d971fb16a420.png)
Global footprint
Where Ampersand has talent and traffic
In the news
Latest news about Ampersand
Recent press, funding announcements, and product moves mentioning Ampersand — open to read from the original sources.
Market sentiment
What the market is saying about Ampersand
An AI-synthesized read of the highest-engagement posts about Ampersand on X over the past 7 days. We rank by likes & retweets, ignore corporate channels, and surface the themes that broke out from real people.
Reading the room on X — pulling top posts and synthesizing themes…
Source: X recent search ranked by engagement (likes + retweets) · Synthesis by Claude · Cached for 1 hour
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