Warren Odanje gets bored easily. When that happens, he looks for a problem to solve, before moving on to the next. He thinks and dreams electric vehicles.
Odanje is in the forefront pushing for adoption of electric vehicles, which remains extremely rare on Africa’s roads.
In Kenya, green shoots are emerging. Electric buses for their public transport needs and electric solutions are emerging for commercial drivers, especially of motorcycles.
Born in Kakamega and brought up in Bungoma, Mumias and the Belgian capital Brussels, Odanje joined Moi University in 2013 for a chemical engineering degree that he often found “quite depressing.”
"I get bored easily, so I look for problems to solve—and right now, I think and dream electric vehicles."
Odanje joined Enovators in 2018, advising top companies on how to manage energy and cut costs.
As e-mobility emerged across Africa in the late 2010s, he began writing online pieces and hosting webinars, which landed him a job as the Kenya operations manager of the electric motorcycle start-up ArcRide.
He built a team, rolled out the initial pilot of 30 motorcycles, and left a blueprint for rolling out 300 more when he left the start-up in 2022.
Now, with the Africa E-Mobility Alliance, he engages governments, development organisations, and finance institutions to solve the sector’s challenges and unlock the EV market at a regional scale.
-Dennis Musau