Cars in Senegal are almost completely fossil fuelled and on average over 20 years old which leads to fuel inefficiency and health damaging air pollution. Both electric vehicles and charging infrastructure are inaccessible due to their prohibitive expense, which means that old, polluting vehicles stay on the road longer and are used extensively as commercial and private vehicles. Mobility needs are increasing along with urbanisation in Senegal, leading to increasing carbon emissions and health consequences from exposure to air pollution.

This activity seeks to overcome the financial barriers to e-mobility in Senegal. It enables the growing demand to be met through increased electric car ownership to achieve long term cost savings alongside significant environmental benefits. It is designed to support a mass transition to electric vehicles at speed and at scale in Senegal by stimulating the development of the broader electric vehicle ecosystem, including through facilitating insurance, maintenance, regulatory and fiscal frameworks, access to finance, and onboard telematics.

Implementation partner, Mbay Mobility, is taking a whole-of-ecosystem approach to vehicle electrification in Senegal by importing robust, cost-saving electric vehicles and providing a bespoke fintech solution to enable broad financial accessibility. Mbay is developing charging infrastructure networks alongside facilitation of repair and maintenance services, to support rapid electric vehicle uptake and catalyse a market that will become self-sustaining over time. ITMO revenue will support economic accessibility by rewarding early-adopters financially for the emissions avoidance they achieve by driving an electric car, rather than a fossil fuel engine vehicle.

This activity will support the decarbonisation of transport, air pollution reduction, and low carbon economic growth in line with Senegal’s sustainable development goals and global climate ambition.

Electric cars will be sold in Senegal and EV charging will take place through a combination of regular wall sockets, installed chargers, or through Mbay’s public fast-charging network. Onboard telematics software will enable more efficient vehicle management and support Mbay’s fintech platform, which will unlock greater financial accessibility by offering EV purchase through instalments on a lease-to-own contract.

Electric vehicles are prohibitively expensive, costing significantly more than the aging fossil-fuel vehicles currently favoured on the Senegalese market. Moreover, formal credit facilities are generally not available to individuals in Senegal, meaning EVs are out of reach financially, despite having significantly lower lifetime operating costs than traditional vehicles. This is a classic example of a poverty trap, where a lack of resources becomes self-perpetuating. Additional barriers, including the lack of EV availability, a lack of repair and maintenance services, and a lack of trust in unfamiliar EV technology, also delay EV uptake. ITMO revenue increasing access to EV technology will accelerate the transition to low-carbon transport systems in Senegal.

Senegal’s NDC sets an unconditional target of achieving 5% and 7% CO₂e emissions reductions by 2025 and 2030 respectively, and a conditional target of 23.7% and 29.5% emissions reduction by 2025 and 2030 respectively. For the transport sector, the NDC framework targets a sustainable improvement of population mobility conditions, a greater contribution to national economic productivity from the transport sector, a significant reduction in pollution and its negative impacts on economic growth, and diversification of transport modes through use of rail and maritime.

Electric vehicles are not a policy measure included to achieve Senegal’s unconditional NDC commitments. While introducing electric vehicles aligns with Senegal’s priorities of transport decarbonisation, green growth, and sustainable development, this activity goes beyond stated policies and therefore facilitates increasing climate ambition for Senegal after 2030.

• Air pollution from aging and poorly maintained fossil fuel engine vehicles is damaging to health, especially for children, and reduces economic productivity through absenteeism.

• Electric vehicles produce no exhaust fumes therefore significantly reducing air pollution generation in comparison with fossil fuel engine alternatives leading to healthier and cleaner air aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 3 'good health and wellbeing'.

• This activity supports the generation of low carbon job opportunities by offering a pathway to electric vehicle ownership for early-adopters, which would otherwise not be available, as well as through technical skills development in the broader EV ecosystem. The activity supports better working conditions for taxi drivers and facilitates equal focus on female training and employment leading to better inclusion in a traditionally male dominated workforce in line with SDG 8 'decent work and economic growth'.

• Cleaner air and greater access to clean transport technology makes cities safer, cleaner and more sustainable for residents and visitors. E-Taxis allow a broad public access to cleaner transport technology, and efficiency of transport is further improved using ride hailing services in line with SDG 11 'Sustainable Cities and Communities'.