From the UAE’s pulsing megalopolis, Dubai, to the wild open roads of Kenya, electric vehicles are driving sustainable mobility progress across the Middle East and Africa, with women in the driver’s seat - and the boardroom.
Masdar, W Motors, Roam, BasiGo, Zembo, Mobility for Africa, eWAKA, Fleetsimplify and Volt.ae have teams dedicated to utilising electric vehicle technology, keeping drivers safe and on the road for longer.
In celebration of International Women’s Day earlier this month, we take a look at some of the leading ladies across the EV sector in the Middle East and Africa and recognise their ingenuity, perseverance and skills in advancing electric vehicle mobility.
10. Rachel Sotto
Operations Manager at Volt.ae
Dubai
Rachel is an experienced Marketing Communications Coordinator, who has worked extensively across the renewable and environmental sectors. She has a Bachelor's degree in Law from Aemillanum College of Law.
Dubai-based startup Volt.ae develops clean energy infrastructure across the Middle East, supporting the design and installation of solar panels and electric vehicle chargers for both commercial and residential use.
Rachel has worked at Volt.ae for six years, starting as Marketing and Communications Coordinator in 2017 and moving up to Operations Manager the following year.
9. Balqis Chepkwony
Co-founder & CEO at Fleetsimplify
Kenya
By 2030, it is expected that 50% of Africa's younger population will be living in urban areas, so there is a desperate need to create affordable and convenient ways for them to commute to their schools and places of work.
Enter Fleetsimplify, co-founded by Balqis Chepkwony. Fleetsimplify monetises vehicles in the ride hailing space, styled as ‘a car rental marketplace for the gig market’. The company connects vehicles and drivers in order to foster sustainable cities and advance wealth creation.
Balqis is passionate about fostering sustainable shared mobility solutions in Africa and is an alumni of Google For Startups Accelerator Africa.
8. Kwamboka Onduso
Sales Manager, eWAKA
Kenya
eWAKA is an electric mobility platform in Africa, offering sales and rentals of electric cargo bikes and motorcycles. Kwamboka Onduso is a Purchasing and Contract Management specialist, with over a decade of experience in the Sales and Marketing Industry. She has a BA in Purchasing and Contract Management and a Diploma in Purchasing and Supplies Management. Kwamboka’s work history includes stints at Reckitt Benckiser, Swvl Technologies Kenya, Multichoice Kenya Limited, Green Planet Ltd and Jubilee Insurance.
7. Delilah (Omutanyi) Eshiomunda
Data Analyst at eWAKA
Kenya
As it is driving the future of green mobility, eWAKA gets two mentions in this list! The company has a strong focus on vehicle longevity and aims to make eco-friendly transport solutions both affordable and sustainable.
As a Data Analyst at the company, Delilah builds tools on Google sheets to track customer related OKRs, while also building power-bi visualisation dashboards. At the core of her work is improving customer satisfaction and in turn increasing customer retention.
6. Geraldine Mupandanyama
Member Board of Directors at Mobility for Africa
Zimbabwe
Geraldine Mupandanyama is a committed Startup Advisor and Mentor, who aims to close the funding gap for African entrepreneurs. She is Member Board of Directors at Mobility for Africa, an electric mobility company that provides cargo-carrying e-tricycles and solar-powered battery charging solutions, to underserved communities across Zimbabwe.
“I believe the future of Africa to a large extent rests in the hands of entrepreneurs,” she said. “If the world is going to eradicate poverty in all forms and dimensions by 2030 then the world must empower entrepreneurs to build their economies.”
Mobility for Africa also made it onto our 'Top 10 Mobility Companies'.
Read it here.
5. Elissa Ferron
Project Coordinator at Zembo
Uganda
Zembo is introducing e-mobility in East Africa by providing affordable electric motorcycles in Uganda and running over 30 battery swap stations.
Project Coordinator Elissa Ferron joined the company in 2021 where she started as Head of Sales. This year, she moved to Business Development and Fundraising.
Elissa has a Bachelor of Commerce in International Business from TBS Education and Msc Sustainability management from ESCP Business School.
Zembo was recently selected to receive support from the CFA Programme.
“With this support, we are one step closer to realising our mission of revolutionising the transportation landscape in Uganda and beyond,” said Ferron.
4. Mutoro Sifuma
Marketing & Communication Lead at Basigo
Uganda
BasiGo is an e-mobility start-up which aims to create clean, electric public transport across Africa. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, the team is made up of entrepreneurs who have spent years working in electric vehicle technology and renewable energy financing.
Mutoro studied Marketing at Africa Nazarene University. While there, she supported the HIV committee and played on the volleyball team. At ICE Training and Consultancy, she continued her Marketing studies with a focus on digital marketing.
3. Sylvia Wanjiru
Process Quality Engineer at Roam
Kenya
In Africa, the impact of air pollution caused by fossil fuels is leading to a call to reimagine transport. Roam was created to offer accessible, low-cost and low-emission solutions.
In her role as Production Line Fitter, Sylvia Wanjiru completes sub-assemblies for vital electrical components for electrical motorcycles.
“I design, implement and improve business processes, identify gaps and drive changes with the goal of making profits and reducing waste,” she said.
Roam is opening ‘a new frontier, a new electric revolution’ by changing the way people move around the continent for a cleaner future.
2. Ons Ghliss
Project Manager at W Motors
Dubai
W Motors is the first manufacturer of high-performance luxury sports cars in the Middle East. Founded in 2012 in Dubai, the company spans automotive design, technology and engineering, as well as consultancy and manufacturing.
Ons is based in Dubai, supporting its mission to become ‘the world’s smartest city’. Earlier, at the National Engineering School of Tunis (ENIT) Ons studied for her Engineer's degree, followed by a Masters degree in Quality and Performance at the Université de Technologie de Compiègne. She then worked in Paris at TE Connectivity and WILO SE, before joining W Motors in 2023.
At W Motors, Ons has proven success in RFQ phases, budget management and seamless project integration.
1. Dr. Majida Alazazi
Chairman of M Glory Holding & SANDSTORM Founder
Dubai
From 2009 to 2011, Majida studied Business Administration in Supply Chain Management at United Arab Emirates University. She later completed her DBA there, specialising in Supply Chain Management. Majida focused on researching commercial contracts according to international standards.
She followed this by working at NIMR Automotive as Senior Procurement, Commodity & Logistic Manager, then Senior Procurement Manager & Logistic in Supply Chain Management at CARACAL.
Majida founded SANDSTORM in 2017 and is a board member there. The company specialises in electric vehicles and supports the development of the local automotive industry supply chain. The company recently held an inauguration of its manufacturing facility in Dubai Investment Park.
"We are extremely proud of this ground-breaking achievement, which is the first Emirati factory to manufacture different types of 4x4 vehicles - a major milestone that we truly cherish, as being the region's first manufacturers to make the first Arab 4x4 cars," said Majida.
She joined M Glory Holding in 2020, as Chairwoman.
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