Tijan Watt is not waiting for Senegal's grid to improve. The founder of Solarbox, the Dakar-based electric vehicle startup he launched in 2022, has built solar energy directly into the business model from day one. For Watt, that is not a workaround. It is the whole point.
Solarbox operates within the West African Economic and Monetary Union, known as UEMOA, offering electric motorcycles, tricycles, and light trucks charged on renewable energy. The company was incubated at Wuri Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm that has backed startups including Carry1st, Kotani Pay, and Jetstream. Watt is also co-founder and managing partner at Wuri Ventures.
The context matters here. Across French-speaking Africa, the economics of electric vehicles actually work: fuel savings are real and demand exists. But adoption keeps stalling against the same familiar walls, including weak policy support, high import taxes, and limited financing options for operators in the informal sector.
Senegal runs heavily on fossil fuels. In 2024, the country produced 5.48 terawatt-hours of electricity from petroleum products, powering roughly 65 percent of its population. Watt sees solar as a deeply underused resource, one capable of moving Senegal toward genuine energy sovereignty rather than continued dependence on imported fuel.
Whether a solar-first EV startup can shift that reality for everyday riders and small logistics operators is the bigger question Solarbox is trying to answer.
Originally published by TechCabal.