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| A woman and two children on an electric bike powered by the sun that Ebikes4Africa is renting out and selling in Namibia. |
In Windhoek, Ebikes4Africa has launched a project that hopes to get young commuters on bicycles with electric motors that are powered by sunlight.
The Road Safety and Cycling Training Programme is aimed at students enrolled at local universities and is presented in partnership with the Public Sector Road Safety Forum, the City of Windhoek and the German Co-operation for International Development.
Ebikes4Africa said in a statement that the programme aims “to introduce bicycles as alternative source of transportation for young commuters, and make cycling a safer and more attractive transport option, while taking into consideration Windhoek’s initiatives towards sustainable and smart cities”.
The initiative is planned as a series of monthly events that will take place in Windhoek, providing students the opportunity to get comfortable on a bicycle and feel safe sharing the streets of the city.
Students from the Namibia University of Science and Technology, the University of Namibia and the International University of Management, have been invited to register their interest in the project.
Witness Wheels met Ebikes4- Africa founders — the inspiring couple Bernhard and Marita Walter — whose dream is to provide affordable transport powered by the sun in Namibia, at a Smarter Mobility Conference held in Pretoria in 2019
“We are a social enterprise that specialise in electric mobility and solar recharge systems. SunCycles, our locally designed e-mobility solutions, help Africans move towards a more sustainable future,” they state on their website.
ALSO READ | Solar vehicles coming out of the shade in Namibia.
The enterprise is currently renting out ebikes for a $N1 000 a month, (R1 038) operating from Windhoek, as well as selling their basic SunCycle with a carrier rack, hub motor, battery pack and snow tyres for some $N10 000 (R10 381).
The enterprise is also looking at partners outside Namibia to set up more “E-Hubs” — a Solar Service Station comprising a shipping container with solar panels and batteries where cyclist can recharge while connected to Wi-Fi.
“The E-Hubs support entrepreneurs who fulfil the community’s electricity, mobility and other basic needs, without the use of fossil fuels,” Bernhard told Witness Wheels at the Smarter Mobility Conference.
Interest parties can contacted them at ebikes4africa.org
