A pay-as-you-go electric truck is making deliveries on Rwanda's dirt roads

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News Article :-
The rolling hills of Rwanda produce great endurance cyclists. They might not all be attempting the Tour de France, but perhaps even more impressively, some are able to traverse mountainous terrain with 100 kilograms of fruit on their heads and shoulders.

In this region, where bigger vehicles struggle on the dirt roads, bicycles and motorcycles are a common way for farmers to get their produce to market. But British-Rwandan delivery startup OX Delivers is looking to change that through its electric OX Trucks, which are designed to negotiate dirt roads while carrying up to two tons of goods – roughly 20 times a cyclist’s capacity.
The truck was designed by former Formula One engineer Gordon Murray in 2016, commissioned by a non-profit called the Global Vehicle Trust, which wanted a vehicle that could help provide essential deliveries in developing countries.

The Global Vehicle Trust launched OX Delivers in 2020 and although it’s headquartered in Warwickshire, England, the company describes it as an African-led operation. Rather than selling the vehicles, it rents out delivery space on the trucks, mostly to smallholder farmers and small-scale traders.

It launched a fleet of two trucks in Western Rwanda in April 2021, which has now grown to 24, transporting everything from fruit to livestock, lumber to school equipment. “Before, our clients would take any means of transport that would come around,” explains Rwanda managing director Francine Uwamahoro. “They were taking bikes from their farm … and they would be gone for a long time – around two days.”

The OX Truck boasts large tires and high ground clearance. The company says that parts are carefully selected to reduce breakdown time, and some basic components are interchangeable and easily removed in the event of being damaged by rocks (a regular occurrence on dirt roads).

Customers book space on a truck through a basic “app” designed for 2G feature phones. Since the app cannot yet process payments, drivers negotiate prices and build relationships face to face with their customers. “Our growth is in the hands of our drivers,” says Uwamahoro.

Connecting rural Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa has fewer than a quarter of the average paved roads per kilometer of all low-income regions. A lack of roads can mean higher cargo prices and longer transit times, which can make it harder for economies to develop.

“Bananas cost 10 times in Kigali (Rwanda’s capital) what they cost in a village,” says OX Delivers managing director Simon Davis. “You can get good fruit and ship it to Kigali, but the transport will just eat all the cost.”

One solution is simply to build more paved roads, but Davis believes a more sustainable solution is to have more affordable vehicles that can drive on dirt roads.

“What happens when there’s a flood and it washes away a bridge? You can’t pay for a new one because you have no money,” he says.