Africa's real last mile is business-to-business

The challenge

In most African cities, the last mile is not a parcel to a front door. It is the small, frequent loads that keep kiosks, pharmacies, bakeries, restaurants, and market stalls stocked. Around 90% of everyday retail in the region goes through small businesses and micro retailers.

A load no vehicle fits

Small B2B loads, over short distances.

A motorbike needs to make several trips or overload, risking accidents and damaged goods. A van or small truck is too big and too costly, and often runs half empty. Petrol tricycles are expensive to fuel and maintain. Small businesses absorb the cost, and families pay it at the counter.

A climate and health problem

Almost every trip burns petrol.

This freight runs on petrol and diesel, adding emissions, noise and exhaust where people live, work and shop. As African cities grow, so does the number of these trips.

Why imports alone fall short

A vehicle is only half the solution.

Electric vehicles cost far less to run, but imported ones often end up idle. Parts and trained technicians can be months away; charging is unreliable and eats up vehicle uptime, and small businesses cannot afford to buy a vehicle or hire a driver. The other half is the parts, people, energy, and software that keep it working.

Why now

The economics have turned. Fuel keeps rising while batteries and solar keep getting cheaper.

Trend	Evidence
Fuel keeps rising	Petrol in Arusha, Tanzania reached TZS 4,186 a litre in October 2026, more than double its 2016 price
Batteries and solar keep getting cheaper	Lithium-ion pack prices are down 70% since 2016, to about US$81 per kWh for LFP packs (BloombergNEF); solar modules are down 60% (IRENA)
The technology is proven at scale	About 10 million electric two- and three-wheelers were sold worldwide in 2024; in India, 57% of new three-wheelers were electric (IEA)
Electric already wins on running cost	Our electric energy costs about TZS 15 per km, against about TZS 167 for a petrol cargo tricycle

The opportunity

A market measured in billions of shillings. Before counting a single informal trader.

TZS 39billion

a year spent by formal businesses in Arusha and Dar es Salaam moving goods over the last mile (US$15 million)

TZS 220billion

a year across mainland Tanzania (US$85 million)

90%

of everyday retail in the region goes through informal channels

Source: our estimate from National Bureau of Statistics business counts (2023/24) and typical trips and costs per business.

Research

E-mobility adoption in Tanzania (2021)

With the Access to Energy Institute (A2EI), we studied the adoption of electric mobility for productive use in Tanzania and how it compares with petrol.

Download the report (PDF) →

How ZELO solves it.

A vehicle, an energy system, software and trained people, run as one delivery service.