Tokyo-headquartered WASSHA Inc. has acquired Zaribee, a Kenyan mobility fintech startup, for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which closed on January 1, 2026, marks a significant consolidation in East Africa’s “asset-as-a-service” sector—merging solar energy distribution with motorcycle financing in a play that could redefine how informal workers access critical infrastructure.
Zaribee, formerly known as Unchorlight Kenya, specializes in a rent-to-own model for motorcycle taxi (boda boda) riders. The acquisition allows WASSHA, which already operates a sprawling network of solar kiosks across Sub-Saharan Africa, to integrate mobility assets into its existing Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) platform.
Translation: The company that powers off-grid villages with solar lanterns now wants to get those same customers moving—on bikes they can eventually own.
What WASSHA Actually Does (And Why It Matters)
Before we get to motorcycles, let’s understand what WASSHA built.
Founded as a spinoff from the University of Tokyo’s “digital grid” research, WASSHA operates one of Africa’s most extensive solar distribution networks. The company partners with local kiosk owners across Tanzania, Kenya, and other markets, installing solar panels and battery units that power LED lanterns, radios, tablets, and phone charging stations.
The model is brilliantly simple:
- WASSHA loans all equipment to kiosk owners (zero upfront capital)
- Kiosk owners rent devices to villagers and charge for electricity
- Transactions are managed via mobile money (M-Pesa, etc.)
- Kiosk owners keep 16% of electricity sales as income
- Average monthly income per kiosk: ~$188
It’s IoT-enabled, remotely monitored, and scales without traditional grid infrastructure. By 2025, WASSHA had reached hundreds of thousands of off-grid households across East Africa.
But energy alone has limits. Most of WASSHA’s customers are microbusiness owners—street vendors, shop owners, small-scale farmers—who need more than just electricity. They need logistics. They need mobility.
Enter Zaribee.
The Boda Boda Economy: Africa’s Informal Uber
Kenya’s boda boda sector is massive, chaotic, and essential. According to industry data, there are approximately 1.2 million boda boda riders in Kenya, with 90% operating commercially. The sector contributes 3.4% to Kenya’s GDP—comparable to entire industries in developed markets.
But here’s the problem: most riders don’t own their bikes.
Traditional ownership models require massive upfront capital—anywhere from $800 to $2,000 for a new motorcycle. For informal workers earning $5-10 per day, that’s insurmountable. So they rent daily from bike owners at exploitative rates ($3-5/day), trapping them in a cycle where they can never save enough to own.
Zaribee’s solution: rent-to-own financing powered by digital credit.
The model works like this:
- Rider applies via mobile app
- Zaribee assesses creditworthiness using mobile money transaction history
- Rider gets a motorcycle with minimal down payment
- Daily/weekly payments via M-Pesa
- After 12-24 months of payments, rider owns the bike
It’s the same “asset-as-a-service” playbook WASSHA perfected with solar—just applied to wheels instead of watts.
Why This Acquisition Makes Strategic Sense
On the surface, solar energy and motorcycle financing seem unrelated. But in the informal African economy, they’re two sides of the same coin: capital-light access to productive assets.
Here’s why WASSHA’s bet is smarter than it looks:
1. Overlapping Customer Base
WASSHA’s kiosk network serves microbusiness owners in off-grid and underserved areas. Many of those same customers are boda boda riders or need transport for their businesses. By offering both energy and mobility, WASSHA can become the one-stop infrastructure provider for informal workers.
2. Data Synergies
Both businesses rely on the same financial infrastructure: mobile money transaction histories, IoT-enabled asset tracking, and remote payment monitoring. A customer paying reliably for solar lantern rentals is a lower credit risk for motorcycle financing—and vice versa.
WASSHA can now cross-sell: “You’ve been a reliable solar customer for 6 months? Here’s a pre-approved motorcycle loan.”
3. Operational Leverage
WASSHA already has boots on the ground across Kenya and Tanzania. Integrating motorcycle distribution into existing kiosk networks dramatically lowers customer acquisition costs. Instead of building a separate sales force, Zaribee’s products can be offered through WASSHA’s established touchpoints.
4. Platform Play
This isn’t just about selling more stuff. It’s about building a platform for the informal economy—a single interface where workers access energy, mobility, insurance, and eventually credit.
Think of it as the “Super App” model, but for productive assets instead of consumer services.
5. Climate + Mobility = Investor Catnip
Climate tech captured 53% of African venture capital in 2025. Mobility financing is exploding thanks to electric vehicle (EV) adoption. WASSHA can now pitch investors on a unified “green mobility + renewable energy” narrative—exactly what DFIs, impact investors, and ESG funds want to hear.
And if Zaribee transitions to financing electric motorcycles (like competitors Spiro and Ampersand), the climate story gets even stronger.
The Competitive Landscape: A Crowded Market
Zaribee isn’t alone in the boda boda financing space. The sector is fiercely competitive:
Established Players:
- MOGO (backed by Eleving Group) – Kenya’s largest motorcycle lender
- Watu – Focuses on new and used bike financing
- Fortune Credit – Digital Credit Provider licensed by CBK
- Traditional banks: KCB, Equity, NCBA offer boda boda loans but with stricter requirements
The Differentiator?
Most competitors are pure-play lenders. They finance motorcycles and collect payments. That’s it.
WASSHA + Zaribee can bundle: motorcycle financing + solar home systems + phone charging + insurance (Zaribee already partners with Lami Technologies for rider insurance) + working capital loans.
Bundling creates switching costs. Once a rider is embedded in the WASSHA ecosystem—getting energy, mobility, and financial services from one provider—leaving becomes nearly impossible.
The Risks: Why This Could Fail
But let’s be realistic. Acquisitions in African fintech have a mixed track record, and this deal has red flags:
1. Integration Complexity
Solar distribution and motorcycle financing are operationally different businesses. WASSHA’s team knows energy, IoT, and kiosk management. Do they know motorcycle supply chains, rider underwriting, and vehicle maintenance?
Bolt-on acquisitions often fail because the acquirer can’t integrate effectively. If WASSHA treats Zaribee as a separate unit, synergies never materialize. If they force integration too quickly, operations break.
2. Credit Risk
Motorcycle financing is riskier than solar lantern rentals. A $2 LED lantern has limited resale value if a customer defaults. A $1,500 motorcycle? That’s a repossession nightmare.
Default rates in Kenya’s boda boda sector can exceed 20% during economic downturns. If Zaribee’s underwriting models don’t hold up at scale, WASSHA could burn through capital fast.
3. Market Saturation
Kenya’s motorcycle financing market is crowded. MOGO alone has financed tens of thousands of bikes. Watu, Fortune Credit, and traditional banks are all competing for the same riders.
Zaribee will need to differentiate—or accept razor-thin margins to compete. If WASSHA overpaid for the acquisition (we don’t know the price), ROI could take years to materialize.
4. Regulatory Headwinds
Kenya’s Central Bank has been tightening regulations around digital lenders after predatory lending scandals. If Zaribee faces compliance challenges or gets lumped in with bad actors, operations could grind to a halt.
5. Electric Transition Timing
If the market shifts rapidly to electric motorcycles (as climate policy suggests it will), Zaribee’s expertise in gasoline bikes becomes obsolete. WASSHA would need to pivot quickly—partnering with EV manufacturers like Spiro, Ampersand, or BasiGo.
Timing this transition wrong could leave WASSHA financing depreciating assets.
What This Signals for African Infrastructure Plays
The WASSHA-Zaribee deal is part of a broader trend: consolidation in Africa’s “asset-as-a-service” sector.
For years, investors funded dozens of startups attacking the same problem from different angles:
- Solar companies (d.light, Sun King, M-KOPA)
- Motorcycle financiers (MOGO, Watu, Tugende)
- Appliance-as-a-service (PayGo, Angaza)
- Agriculture equipment financing (Hello Tractor, Apollo Agriculture)
But as funding dried up in 2024-2025, the market shifted. Standalone plays struggled to scale profitably. Investors started asking: “Why are you just doing solar? Why not bundle with mobility? With appliances? With credit?”
The winners will be platforms that aggregate multiple productive assets under one roof. WASSHA is betting it can become that platform.
The Japanese Connection: Why This Matters Geographically
It’s worth noting: this is a Japanese company acquiring a Kenyan startup—a relatively rare dynamic in African M&A.
Most African tech acquisitions involve:
- African company acquiring African company (Flutterwave/Mono)
- Western VC-backed firm acquiring African startup (Stripe/Paystack)
- Chinese companies entering Africa (rare in fintech, common in infrastructure)
Japanese companies have historically underinvested in African tech compared to Chinese, European, or American players. WASSHA is an exception—and its continued expansion signals growing Japanese interest in African infrastructure plays.
Investors to watch:
- UTEC (University of Tokyo Edge Capital) – early WASSHA backer
- Development Bank of Japan
- Marubeni Corporation (invested in WASSHA’s Tanzania operations in 2018)
- Mizuho Capital, SMBC Venture Capital
If WASSHA succeeds, expect more Japanese corporates to follow.
The Bottom Line: Infrastructure Bundling Is the Future
The WASSHA-Zaribee acquisition won’t generate TechCrunch headlines the way a $100M Series C would. There’s no flashy valuation. No celebrity founder. No viral product.
But it might be more important than any of those deals.
Here’s why: Africa’s infrastructure gap can’t be solved by standalone point solutions. You can’t just “fix energy” or “fix mobility” or “fix credit” in isolation. Informal workers need all of it—bundled, affordable, and accessible.
WASSHA is betting that the company that figures out how to deliver integrated infrastructure-as-a-service will win the next decade of African growth.
Solar + motorcycles is just the start. Next could be:
- Solar + motorcycles + appliances
- Solar + motorcycles + working capital loans
- Solar + motorcycles + health insurance + agriculture inputs
The end game? Becoming the operating system for the informal economy—the single platform where Africa’s 300 million informal workers access every productive asset they need.
If WASSHA pulls it off, this $X million acquisition (we still don’t know the price) will look like the bargain of the decade.
If they don’t, it’ll be a cautionary tale about over-ambitious platform strategies that tried to do too much, too fast.
Check back in 24 months. The data will tell the story.
