With support from Germany’s IKI Small Grants programme for local climate and biodiversity action, EBIKES4AFRICA is making biking accessible and affordable.
In Namibia’s capital Windhoek, mobility is an everyday challenge – especially for the underprivileged in the city’s sprawling population. By manufacturing its own brand of solar-powered e-bike, introducing rental options, and partnering with social initiatives, the local enterprise is creating alternatives to traditional transport, specifically geared towards underserved communities.
When Olivia Shililifa gets on her bike to ride out into the countryside around Namibia’s capital Windhoek, cycling is more than an exercise. To her, it’s about making a statement for sustainable mobility to her fellow Namibians. “Cycling is a way forward,” she says. “I don’t ride for myself, I ride for a community, I ride for a nation.” Using her influence as a professional cyclist and athlete, Olivia is committed to putting biking on the map in Namibia. She is doing this together with the social enterprise EBIKES4AFRICA, which makes and provides solar-powered e-bikes – with funding and support from Germany’s IKI Small Grants programme.
From A to B: an everyday challenge
Cycling in Windhoek is rarely seen as a viable mode of transport. In recent years, the city has seen a major population influx from rural areas. The city’s borders have expanded, while infrastructure struggles to keep up. Buses are rare and unreliable, and the cost of driving or using taxis is unaffordable for many. Rugged terrain, steep hills, long distances, and scorching heat make traditional bicycles impractical.
“Transport is a big struggle in Namibia,” explains Marita Walther, co-founder of EBIKES4AFRICA. “People spend up to a third of their income on transport alone. There’s a great need to introduce a more cost-effective solution.” The e-bikes her company makes are designed to meet this need. “Riding traditional bikes is exhausting on the many hills of the city. While 10 or 20% of the population may be fit enough to cycle five kilometres to work, 80% are not, because they are too old or too young. We open up possibilities for people to use bicycles.”
Bikes “made in Namibia” for local needs and challenges
EBIKES4AFRICA designs and builds e-bikes tailored to Namibia’s local realities and demands. Like all-terrain jeeps on two wheels, the bikes can handle rough roads while remaining affordable to maintain. Built locally by trained Namibian technicians, they feature steel frames, puncture-proof tyres, and solar-powered charging systems. The bikes are built for a wide range of users — from students and commuters to street vendors and entrepreneurs, the enterprise’s main target groups.
Looking ahead: future impact and future growth
With a current production capacity of 200 e-bikes per year, EBIKES4AFRICA is actively changing the transport landscape in Windhoek. “We selected EBIKES4AFRICA for its contribution to helping Namibia scale climate-smart, socially equal mobility solutions,” says David Fuchs, IKI Small Grants’ programme director. “This is not a one-off donation. It’s part of a growing response and solution to achieve more transport equality, more climate resilience, and more energy independence.”
The project now serves as a blueprint for further e-hubs throughout Windhoek and northern Namibia. It’s a living example of how climate solutions can take root at the local level — driven by purpose, community, and opportunity. With more e-bike riders taking to the streets, figures like Olivia – once a trainee, now a national athlete – are championing safe, efficient, and sustainable transport alternatives in a country well suited for change. As she emphasizes, “Namibia is a cycling paradise.”
More about the project
Locally manufactured E-Bikes with rental system for peri-urban communities | IKI Small Grants
About the organisation
EBIKES4AFRICA is a social enterprise that specialises in electric mobility and solar recharge systems. A pioneering project for Namibia and Africa, EBIKES4AFRICA provides electric-assist bicycles. Electric bicycles are the most affordable and efficient way of moving, and because it is supported by an electric motor and battery, significantly increases distance, speed, and ease of travel for better access to vital facilities. As the first to introduce this technology they believe that their products and projects create the opportunity for Windhoek to be on the forefront of future-driven transport development initiatives.
Links
Video documentary featuring EBIKES4AFRICA and project trainee Olivia Shililifa