{"id":55606,"date":"2025-09-13T11:49:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T11:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/ncba-and-kabisa-roll-out-umurabyo-electric-taxi-cabs-in-rwanda\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T10:01:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T10:01:23","slug":"ncba-and-kabisa-roll-out-umurabyo-electric-taxi-cabs-in-rwanda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/ncba-and-kabisa-roll-out-umurabyo-electric-taxi-cabs-in-rwanda\/","title":{"rendered":"NCBA and Kabisa roll out \u2018Umurabyo\u2019 electric taxi cabs in Rwanda"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The launch marks a defining moment in how finance, innovation, and social protection come together to advance e-mobility in Rwanda, through collaboration between NCBA, Kabisa, and Sonarwa General and Sonarwa Life. <\/p>\n<p>Commenting on the development, Maurice Toroitich, Managing Director of NCBA Bank Rwanda said: \u201cBy financing affordable, electric solutions, Umurabyo is all about improving livelihoods and laying the foundation for a sustainable and greener Rwanda.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The initiative aligns with NCBA\u2019s Change the Story agenda, which includes USD 230 million in green lending, planting 10 million trees by 2030, and rolling out electric charging stations across all NCBA branches in East Africa, several of which are already operational in Rwanda.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are committed to playing a key role in our shared responsibility to build sustainable cities,\u201d added Pophia Muhoza, Managing Director of Kabisa. \u201cAs a company, what we offer is more than EVs, we are providing the entire ecosystem of private and commercial electric vehicles, charging stations, and after-sales services. We won\u2019t just be selling these cars to drivers; we will charge them and repair them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>{{Cleaner cities, better livelihoods}}<\/p>\n<p>At its core, Umurabyo removes one of the biggest barriers to electric vehicle adoption: upfront cost. NCBA Bank Rwanda has committed to providing 100% financing, with the vehicle itself serving as collateral.<\/p>\n<p>For drivers, the benefits of going electric are immediate and measurable. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cCurrently, I use about Frw 35,000 per day on fuel and drive about 200 kilometers.This comes to almost Frw 900,000 per month to drive 4,800 kilometers. With Umurabyo, a full electric charge that drives 300 kilometers and costs only Frw 12,000. If I drive the same 4,800 kilometers in the month, I will be spending only 192,000frw on charging. I save more than 700,000 every month on fuel,\u201d said Kirundeke Assuman, a driver who received his taxi cab. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of us bought old vehicles that we drive all day for hundreds of kilometers. As a result, we are always in garages repairing them. I spend over Frw 200,000 every month on spare parts and repairs. The Umurabyo I have now is brand new, reducing the time I will spend at the garage and the hours I miss from work,\u201d said Kirundeke Asumani as he appreciated his new Umurabyo. <\/p>\n<p>Over the course of a month, the savings exceed one million francs, money that can improve the livelihood of Rwandan drivers.<\/p>\n<p>Drivers earning at least Frw 1.5 million a month and without an existing bank loan are eligible to apply immediately.  Each package combines a competitively priced vehicle, affordable repayment terms, and comprehensive auto and life insurance coverage from Sonarwa, ensuring both drivers and their families are protected against financial risk.<\/p>\n<p>This product shows how public-private partnerships can provide practical solutions to everyday challenges. With its rollout, Kigali stands to reduce urban pollution and carbon emissions, improve air quality, and move closer to Rwanda\u2019s national climate goals.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-94355\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/ncbaa_1.jpg\" alt=\"The launch marks a defining moment in how finance, innovation, and social protection come together to advance e-mobility in Rwanda, through collaboration between NCBA, Kabisa, and Sonarwa General and Sonarwa Life. \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-94356\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/ncbaa.jpg\" alt=\"Rwanda\u2019s urban transport sector is stepping into a new era with the launch of Umurabyo, an affordable electric taxi cab. Umurabyo is a name that means lightning in Kinyarwanda, symbolizing both speed and the clean energy driving this revolution.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-94358\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/ncbaa_7.jpg\" alt=\"Commenting on the development, Maurice Toroitich, Managing Director of NCBA Bank Rwanda speaking at the launch of \u2018Umurabyo\u2019.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-94357\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/ncbaa_5.jpg\" alt=\" NCBA Bank Rwanda has committed to providing 100% financing, with the vehicle itself serving as collateral.\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rwanda\u2019s urban transport sector is stepping into a new era with the launch of &#8216;Umurabyo&#8217;, an affordable electric taxi cab. &#8216;Umurabyo&#8217; is a name that means lightning in Kinyarwanda, symbolizing both speed and the clean energy driving this revolution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":2000094354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-55606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000094354,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ncbaa.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ncbaa.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ncbaa.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ncbaa.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ncbaa.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ncbaa.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000094354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55606"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=55606"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=55606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}