electric vehicles is gaining popularity all over the world, especially given the high cost of fuel. But some of the current models of electric vehicles are not suitable for owners who cannot wait hours for their batteries to charge, such as taxi drivers, delivery men and taxi companies.

One startup trying to solve this problem is ARC Ride in Nairobi, Kenya.


The company, founded in 2020, sells a variety of electric vehicles, including electric bicycles, scooters, motorcycles and tuktuks. ARC Ride also installs battery replacement stations throughout the city. The company’s app allows electric vehicle owners to find battery replacement stations.

Magdalina Maluta is a key person involved in the critical assembly, maintenance and testing of the company’s vehicles and related products. The electric vehicle enthusiast came to the company of 20 employees through a confluence of motivation, the right combination of skills and destiny.

“Before I came to ARC Ride, I was looking at electric cars. [as a career choice]”, – says Malyuta. “I would read about Tesla and I would like to be one of those who make cars in their videos.”

In March 2020, the IT firm she was about to start working for was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After trying to find a job, Malyute received a call from ARC Ride in January 2021 offering her a position after someone recommended her. She started with assembly and maintenance, where she learned about electric vehicles from the ground up.

Working with electric vehicles requires knowledge of mechanics and engineering. Maluta holds degrees in mechanical engineering from the National Industrial Training Authority and PC Kinyanjui Technical Training Institute, both in Nairobi.

“My electrical engineering courses included basic electronics, programming, automation, robotics, and robotics,” she says. “Applying what I learned in them helped me solve problems in the field of mechanical engineering and made my job easier.”

As an inventory and maintenance manager, Malyuta is involved in many aspects of the company’s operations, including overseeing the assembly of electric vehicles, overseeing the maintenance and support teams, tracking inventory, and helping to test new features on the mobile app. She also helps design and develop the company’s next generation of vehicles, batteries and replacement stations.

ARC Ride offers four types of electric vehicles. The E1 is an electric bike with a range of 60 km on battery and up to 65 km with the pedal. With the throttle, the top speed is 60 km/h, and with the addition of pedals, it can reach 65 km/h. The E2 is a two-wheeled scooter with a range of 85 km and a top speed of 60 km/h. The all-electric motorcycle E2+, called boda boda –can accommodate two batteries and gets a range of 85 km with one battery and 160 km with two. Its maximum speed is 75 km/h. E3, tricycle knock Knock auto rickshaw, can carry up to 500 kg of cargo and has a cruising range of 80 km.

“You have to have drive and passion for this kind of work, and you have to show it. Don’t doubt yourself.”

Each car comes with a charger. According to Malyuta, it takes less than 4 hours to recharge a depleted battery. Alternatively, owners can exchange their near-depleted battery at the company’s fully charged stations. It takes about 2 minutes to change the battery, according to Maluta.

The startup has aggressive plans to add more models and increase production and sales to around 500 vehicles per month, as well as more swap stations, she said. ARC Ride recently received an order for parts to build 120 E2+ motorcycles. It also has plans to expand its presence in other cities in Kenya as well as neighboring countries in East Africa.

“We are considering a single battery that could be used in all four of our current electric vehicles, making our swap stations even more useful,” she says. “In addition, we are exploring ways to increase the range and speed of our vehicles. We want to add regenerative braking, which converts braking energy into electricity, which is returned to the battery. And, like all EV manufacturers, we want faster battery charging.”

Part of her job is testing scooters and e-bikes around the city for performance, top speed, braking and range. “When we do maintenance or repairs on one of the cars, I personally check its performance,” she says.

Malyuta also takes part in hiring people and is looking for people with certain skills. “To design and develop EV products, you need to be able to use tools like AutoCAD, Autodesk and SolidWorks. And you can’t do that without an engineering background.”

ARC Ride is committed to diversity in hiring, and Malyuta is hard at work to recruit more women to her team. But, she emphasizes, “You have to have drive and passion for this kind of work, and you have to show it. Don’t doubt yourself. Your personality should be the last thing that limits you.”

This article appears in the September 2022 print issue titled Magdalene Malyuta.