Coffee with: Adam Ridgway, Founder and CEO of One Moto Technologies: Ridgway (Linkedin) serves as the founder and CEO of sustainable mobility startup One Moto. Founded in 2016, One Moto seeks to electrify the last mile through a wide range of e-vehicles that include electric motorcycles, bikes and scooters among others. Prior to founding the company, Ridgway was a founder of two other Dubai-based businesses, creative media group MediaCubed and production house VideOh. Ridgway also serves as a mentor to early start-ups embarking on the entrepreneurial journey through the platform OneFounderToAnother.com.

One Moto expanded its operations to Latin America this week, where it has entered several undisclosed regional markets with the support of the Dubai International Chamber. The startup already has agreements signed in the UAE, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and have ongoing conversations in Saudi Arabia and Morocco. It also secured USD 40 mn in lease financing in July to accelerate the leasing of electric delivery vehicles throughout the UAE and several countries in the region.

We sat down with Ridgway to discuss the story behind his startup, future plans in the Middle East, and the future of sustainable e-mobility in the region.

Edited excerpts of our conversation follow:

Enterprise: One Moto is actually a British startup that’s now based in Dubai. What drew you to the region?

Adam Ridgway: One Moto’s holding company is based in the UK, and our headquarters are located in Dubai with other offices in various different territories. The UAE has been home for the past 15 years, we decided to set up our beachhead market here because it’s a country built on the notion of change. Every day something seems to change and evolve with regards to the government and leadership. We find the UAE is all about progression, opportunity and making a difference.

E: What services does One Moto offer?

AR: We’re an EV startup that designs and builds vehicles focused on the last mile with a primary mission to decarbonize last mile delivery in each of the countries where we operate. We don’t just provide the vehicles — manufacture and sell them — we also lease or lease to own the vehicles through a partner.

We also offer other services like EV batteries as a service — a swappable battery bank with a subscription-based charging — and OneCare, our after sales and workshop program where we can upskill any mechanic to become an EV Engineer.

One Distribution focuses on growing our distribution network and One Moto Manufacturing focuses on the assembly and manufacturing of units. Encompassing all of that is our mobile app that connects everything together and provides a huge amount of data for the fleet operators, riders, users, and government officials.

E: Tell us more about the partnerships the startup forges with local businesses.

AR: We have partners who help with the manufacturing process. We are not a predatory company, we don’t enter a market and say everything has to be ours and force potentially negative competition. Collaboration has paved the way for growth, and we’re very close to setting up an assembly grant in the UAE. We also set up the region’s first smart mobility and innovation center last year with RIT Dubai.

E: You recently secured a USD 40 mn investment led by Pyse. Where will the funding be spent?

AR: We raised USD 150 mn for the UK and European market earlier this year, and another USD 40 mn just for the UAE market. The financing rounds have enabled us to provide vehicles to our customers or the ability to lease to own those vehicles — which is an industry first for the UAE. The USD 40 mn funding could also be used regionally, spread across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

E: We understand that your operations in the UAE are focused on electric delivery vehicles. Is this the case in other countries you’re operating in as well?

AR: What we push depends on the market we’re entering and we listen to the partners we have there that understand the market. 90% of our focus worldwide is the last mile because its delivery is huge globally, growing between 11% and 27% in various different countries. For example, in the UAE or most of the Middle East — with the exception of Egypt and Lebanon — motorcycles are only used for delivery or for private use, so it’s a very niche market. Head to Europe, India or other parts of Asia and you will find that motorcycles are the main form of transport and everyone has one.

E: You’re currently present in UAE, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar and Jordan. Are you looking for expansion elsewhere in the region?

AR: We’re very strategic in where we launch and build foundations in markets that really need mobilization. One Moto has sales in Saudi Arabia but no distributor yet, and we’ve been approached by a lot of North African markets. Egypt is a bit more price conscious and there are different import duties. In regards to speed, a lower range low speed vehicle is absolutely perfect in that market, so Egypt is 100% a focus.

We’ve also been approached by Syria and Lebanon to open up dealerships or distribution, but unfortunately due to certain events and uncertainties, stability of electricity is not ensured along with the funds issued. We have given access and the ability to allow everyone and the environment to benefit by adopting our vehicles, but there is also money that has to be made to provide sustainable mobility for everyone.

E: How do you see the future of sustainable e-mobility in the region?

AR: The future is electric and no one can deny that. Any commercial deliveries have to transition to electrification to become more sustainable and companies can provide a greater landscape for decarbonization.

I think there’s going to be a lot more collaboration and more mutual joint investment into sustainable mobility networks and the future of EVs and mobility in general will be a subscription-based model allowing drivers flexibility in paying flat fees for EV usage.

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