Kenyan electric mobility manufacturer Roam has unveiled Roam Explorer, a new vehicle intelligence platform designed to tackle one of the continent’s most overlooked challenges in the electric mobility transition: visibility.
The platform connects electric motorcycles, tuk-tuks, buses, and cars to a centralized digital system that tracks battery health, performance, location, and usage in real-time. This addresses a key barrier for financiers and fleet operators, who often struggle to monitor assets in markets where connectivity is inconsistent and fleet data is limited.
Roam Explorer operates on 2G, 3G, and 4G networks, ensuring vehicles remain connected even in rural areas. Fleet operators can access data through a smartphone interface, while critical functions are also available via SMS—broadening usability beyond smartphone-dependent systems.
The system monitors battery range, temperature, and overall performance, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to predict maintenance needs and reduce unexpected breakdowns. Rather than being a supplementary feature, Roam positions Explorer as the digital operating layer of its electric vehicles.
By providing greater visibility, the platform is expected to open new opportunities for asset financing. Lenders such as M-KOPA can now monitor financed vehicles more closely, fleet managers can track performance across multiple units, and riders gain insights to improve safety and reliability.
Developed in Kenya in collaboration with Swedish technology partners, Roam Explorer reflects a broader shift from building electric vehicles to developing connected electric ecosystems.
“Roam Explorer changes how electric fleets are managed. It moves us from reacting to problems to preventing them. By giving real-time visibility into battery health and vehicle performance, we are making electric fleets safer to operate and easier to finance,” said Habib Lukaya, Roam’s Country Manager.
