Why motorbikes lead in Kenya's innovation journey

Joseph Juma from Kilo Village, Uriri, built a tractor using a motorbike, scrap vehicle parts, and a generator engine. [Caleb Kingwara, Standard]

Motorbikes are hated and loved with equal measure. Am one of the lovers? No one can deny they are a nuisance, noisy, driven on the wrong side of the road, and occasionally involved in crimes like bag snatching. 

But on average, the benefits of motorbikes far outweigh their negative publicity. I lived through the age of bicycles; remember Mamba and Raleigh? 

Never mind they are a status symbol in the countryside among the youth. They silently contribute to school dropouts. Mostly young men prefer shortcuts to money and freedom by owning a motorbike. Young girls are also attracted by the “power and prestige “of “Nduthimen.” 

Curiously, in mostly developed countries, motorbikes are treated like toys. In Kenya, they have replaced donkeys and bicycles. Some think they have made us lazy, unwilling to walk even for fun. 

Beyond transport efficiency, they have given employment to thousands of Kenyans. Ever wondered what all these youngsters would be doing without motorcycles? 

Pimping the bikes 

Without M-Pesa kiosks? Curiously, M-Pesa favours young girls, bodaboda and young men. 

Good balance? Boda boda is one sector women have not “invaded.” Women are now in caddying and touting. Their trust is an asset. 

Motorbikes, I prefer that to bodaboda have one bright sport, innovation. They got music on their bikes, a bold step in pimping the bikes. They got rain shelters or canopies aerodynamically designed to reduce air resistance or drag. 

Notice the front of the umbrella is “raised” like a Boeing 747?  Does anyone hold a patent for that rain shelter? The ultimate innovation in bodaboda, or motorbikes, is the use of the exchangeable batteries. I found such a battery station on Ojijo Road. Motorbike owners drop off the drained battery and pick up a new one for a fee. 

An app tracks the battery and payment. I can estimate that half of the motorbikes in Nairobi are electric, a positive contribution to greening the earth.  

The electrification of motorbikes seems ahead of cars. They position Kenya as a giant lab for new ideas beyond M-Pesa and fintech. Chinese electric cars are making inroads into the Kenyan market. 

When will electric cars outnumber diesel or petrol cars? One wishes the spirit of motorbike innovation would diffuse to other sectors and we could become Singapore faster. Own a motorbike? What innovation have I left out? 

Happy holidays, my fellow countrymen…