SA EV startup Everlectric gets Vumela Fund boost

Wesley van der Walt, Ndia Magadagela and Paul Plummer – founders of Everlectric | image supplied

“We are delighted to be partnering with Vumela on this venture debt transaction. This is a testament to Vumela’s commitment to providing innovative growth finance mechanisms, to enable rapid scaling of South African startups. The venture debt is the right catalyst, at the right time, with the right debt provider, enabling Everlectric’s growth,” says co-founder Ndia Magadagela.

The Vumela Fund was established in 2010 as a collaboration between FNB Business Banking and business development specialist, Edge Growth to provide growth capital to Black-owned SMEs.

Investment principal at Edgegrowth, Philippa Ellis, says that Everlectric has developed a solution to assist South African businesses with their transition to EV fleets, addressing most of the concerns that exist around the adoption of EVs as a solution, which presents a potentially very large and untapped market in South Africa.

“We have been impressed by Everlectric’s innovative, organised and ambitious management team. We look forward to partnering with the team and supporting them as they grow and expect that the Venture Debt funding will be catalytic in helping the business unlock further capital for growth,” she says.

“We are incredibly excited to provide funding to assist Everlectric’s growth. Everlectric is pioneering the transition of business fleets onto EV platforms which we believe creates longer-term sustainable outcomes,” says Mike Sage, FNB’s investment capital head and a Vumela Trustee.

NEV rise in SA

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global electric vehicle (EV) stock surpassed 16 million vehicles in 2022, marking a 60% increase from the previous year, with another 35% increase in 2023 and 25% in 2024.

The growth of EVs is also gaining momentum in South Africa, as the country shifts toward more sustainable transportation solutions.

EVs form part of the broader category of new energy vehicles (NEVs), which also include hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) reports that 2023 was a record year for NEV sales in South Africa, with significant growth continuing into 2024.

In the third quarter of 2024, NEV sales increased by 88% compared to the same period in 2023.