Dodai’s Regulatory Maneuver Paves the Way for E-Bike Riders in Addis Ababa

Ethiopian electric bike (e-bike) startup Dodai is navigating Addis Ababa’s regulatory hurdles by helping its customers form an association, streamlining the licensing process for electric vehicle owners, and covering license plate fees for 250 members.

This initiative follows the Addis Ababa Transport Bureau’s 2024 directive. While the law aims to regulate informality in the city’s transport sector, it brought both opportunities and hurdles for emerging local e-bike assemblers. 

The directive enforces a complete ban on fuel-powered motorcycles in the capital city, phasing them out in favor of electric alternatives. However, it mandates a license plate requirement for e-bikes while only issuing also Code-3 plates, which are assigned exclusively to organizations, effectively prohibiting private motorcycle ownership.

Dodai's strategy allows individual e-bike owners to obtain license plates by joining and operating under the legal umbrella of an association. As part of this initiative, the startup is covering the cost of 250 Code-3 plates, amounting to 3.4 million birr.

The announcement, made on Saturday at Dodai’s headquarters in Hana Mariam, marks a broader effort to navigate Ethiopia’s evolving legislative landscape. Yuma Sasaki, Dodai’s Founder and CEO, sees the initiative as a strategic move in shaping the country’s EV market.

“By covering license plate costs and establishing this association, we are not only simplifying the ownership process but also advancing Ethiopia's electric mobility,” he stated.

The Company sold  750 e-bikes so far while it has set an ambitious target of 5,000 bikes for the current year. Dodai formed a partnership back in October with Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), the government's investment arm, to deploy 100 battery swap stations in the capital. 

Despite a national push towards green mobility options over the past few years, the regulatory framework has had to play catch up with increasing demand. The capital’s transport bureau introduced the union requirement through a directive approved back in April. As transport authorities began enforcing the new requirements in September several e-bike owners accustomed to operating without a license plate were forced to park their vehicles indefinitely. E-bike owners who tried to obtain license plates learned that it entailed membership in a union at least 250 strong.

In late July, the Addis Ababa E-mobility Association, a civil society of industry insiders, was formed to help streamline EV adoption in the capital. Members have cited difficulties in obtaining license plates for e-bikes as one of the barriers to green mobility effort. A protracted process for importing and distributing batteries and spare parts, coupled with a lack of established standards and guidelines for charging and battery swapping stations has also been a challenge for the members. The Association underscored the regulatory knot as one of the handicaps hampering the emergence of a thriving EV industry.

Addis Ababa’s regulatory landscape has tightened incrementally since 2019, including a total motorcycle at different periods, a halt on private license plate issuance in 2020, and a 2024 mandate for EV operators to unionize. Dodai’s latest initiative has already provided license plates for 40 E-bike owners as it navigates a dynamic regulatory environment.