Kenyan-Made Electric Motorcycle Beats 500 Entries to Win FT–World Bank Manufacturing Award
- Roam Air wins the Manufacturing Champions award at the 2026 Africa Sustainable Futures Awards, presented by the World Bank Group’s MIGA and the Financial Times.
- The awards attracted more than 500 initiatives, with 23 shortlisted across five categories.
- Roam Air wins its category ahead of finalists Omnicane Ltd. of Mauritius and Sygen Pharmaceuticals Ltd. of Nigeria.
- The win comes just weeks after Roam announced that 40% of Roam Air’s manufacturing content by value is now sourced from East Africa.
Nairobi, Kenya, 27 October 2026 — Roam Air, the electric motorcycle developed by African electric mobility company Roam, has won the Manufacturing Champions award at the 2026 Africa Sustainable Futures Awards, presented by the Financial Times and the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
The recognition puts Kenyan electric mobility on an international stage, highlighting the role African manufacturers can play in advancing sustainable industry, strengthening local economies and building commercially viable solutions to the continent’s challenges.
Roam Air was selected from more than 500 initiatives entered across Africa. The award was presented in London, with Roam Chief Financial Officer Rajal Upadhyaya receiving the trophy on behalf of the company.
The win comes just weeks after Roam announced that 40% of Roam Air’s manufacturing content by value is now sourced from East Africa, highlighting the company’s progress in building a stronger regional manufacturing supply chain.
Roam Air is designed for commercial riding, with a dual-battery configuration offering up to 160 kilometres of range and a payload capacity of up to 250 kilograms.
The award reinforces Roam’s ambition to build electric mobility solutions for African markets while contributing to the growth of the region’s manufacturing ecosystem. Roam will continue developing its electric mobility offering and the manufacturing, charging and service capabilities needed to support adoption across the region.
Fellow Earthshot Prize innovator and Roam partner Keep IT Cool was also recognised on the night, receiving a Highly Commended award in the Agribusiness category.
Filip Lövström, CEO and Co-Founder of Roam, said:
“Winning the Manufacturing Champions award is a proud moment for our team and for Kenya’s electric mobility industry. It recognises the work going into developing solutions for African riders and building the capabilities needed to grow this industry in the region. We are pleased to see that work recognised on an international stage.”
If you would like to watch the World Bank Live Session, which will recap the evening and highlight the winners next week, you can register here:
https://live.worldbank.org/en/event/2026/africa-sustainable-futures-awards
About Roam
Roam is an African-based electric mobility company developing tailored transport solutions for the African market.
In 2025, Roam was named Kenya’s fastest-growing company by the Financial Times. Recognized globally as a finalist for the Earthshot Prize and one of the 2024 Impact/100 startups by the Norrsken Foundation, Roam is leading a local shift toward cleaner, more efficient mobility.
Its innovations, including a 6,000-kilometer solar-powered journey from Nairobi to Cape Town on the Roam Air electric motorcycle, continue to demonstrate the durability and practicality of electric transport on the continent.
Images
Image link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10rRWETNVDcn1Z42lNFOKd_oBG5A_hMqe?usp=drive_link
Video link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rqKOFY-Dlde1eN4mch5fILyz2LuWWIMr?usp=drive_link
See the full winners list:
https://africasustainablefuturesawards.live.ft.com/
