Tanzania — Market-Specific Commercial Models
Status: Draft v0.1
Based on: Bart Magura's Tanzania business plan, BUFM financial model parameters
Audience: Sales and operations teams
1. Product Taxonomy (Tanzania)
| Vehicle |
Type |
Battery |
Use Case |
Target Price (TZS) |
| S6 |
2W motorcycle |
30Ah (2.16 kWh) |
Boda boda |
3,800,000 |
| CET-3 |
3W cargo |
100Ah-G (7.2 kWh) |
Delivery |
6,500,000 |
| E3-PRO |
3W tuktuk |
45Ah (3.24 kWh) |
Passenger |
5,200,000 |
| PET-3 |
3W enclosed |
100Ah-N (7.2 kWh) |
Premium passenger |
9,500,000 |
2. Channel Pricing
Three-tier distributor → dealer → retail:
| Tier |
Discount from Retail |
| Distributor |
15–20% |
| Dealer |
8–12% |
| Retail |
Listed price |
3. PAYG Financing
- Deposit: ≤ TZS 300,000 (~$80) — ≤ 2 weeks of operator income
- Daily payment: TZS 8,000–12,000, 24 months to full ownership
- Energy bundles: 1-swap (3.4 kWh), 15-swap (51 kWh, −5%), 60-swap (204 kWh, −10%)
4. Pricing Strategies (from Bart's Excel)
Six strategies evaluated:
| Strategy |
Description |
Status |
| A |
Per-swap only (no subscription) |
Deprioritized — high risk of revenue volatility |
| B |
Prepaid bundles (PRIMARY) |
Recommended. Matches M-Pesa/Airtel prepaid culture |
| C |
Monthly subscription flat-rate |
Considered for fleet operators |
| D |
Subscription + per-swap (two-part tariff) |
Under evaluation |
| E |
Fleet subscription (B2B) |
Future phase |
| F |
Home charging add-on |
Deferred |
5. Partnership Model
- Revenue split: 60% Partner / 40% OVES
- OVES contribution: Battery CapEx (70–80% of total), rack hardware, platform, brand
- Partner contribution: Operations, electricity, staff, property
- Agent station program: Local entrepreneur model, 70% agent-operated / 30% OVES-operated target
6. Deployment
| Phase |
Duration |
Vehicles |
Stations |
Locations |
| Pilot |
Months 1–6 |
200–500 |
10–20 |
Dar es Salaam |
| Scale |
Months 7–24 |
5,000–10,000 |
50–200 |
Dar + Arusha, Mwanza, Dodoma |
| Hub |
Year 3+ |
50,000+ |
500+ |
Nationwide, EAC export |
7. Market Parameters
| Parameter |
Value |
| Fuel price |
TZS 3,200–3,500/L |
| Grid electricity |
~TZS 350/kWh |
| Currency |
2,600 TZS/USD |
| Boda boda fleet |
1–2 million nationally |
| Import duty |
25% → 10% with assembly license |
| Payment rails |
M-Pesa, Airtel Money |
8. Key Risks
- Currency (TZS/USD): Mitigated by local assembly and bundle prepayment
- 3W CNG competition: At current prices, CNG tricycles offer ~41% savings vs petrol — EV 3W launch deferred
- Grid: ~40% national grid access — solar microgrids required for rural expansion