Non-profit alliance of African universities

Independent evidence for Africa's electric transport decisions.

SAFAR-E brings African universities together to share data, software, methods and people, so that city, provincial and national governments can make well-informed, equitable decisions on transport and energy electrification.

Work with us See the network

Network statusOct 2026

16partner universities, with one more joining

9countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda

1shared, open evidence toolkit

Why SAFAR-E

Big, long-lived investments are being decided on thin evidence.

Governments across Africa are being asked to commit to electric bus fleets, minibus-taxi and boda-boda electrification, and charging networks. These are costly assets that will shape public transport and the grid for decades.

Few public bodies have the in-house capacity to test the assumptions behind these proposals. African universities hold much of the local data, expertise and talent needed, but they often work in isolation and compete for the same limited funding.

Imported assumptions

Models built elsewhere miss local duty cycles, road conditions, grid constraints and how informal transport actually operates.

Vendor-led analysis

Proposals are often assessed using figures supplied by the party selling the solution, with no independent check before public money is committed.

Stranded public assets

Poorly specified fleets and chargers waste scarce funds and set back public confidence in electric mobility.

What we do

Equipping universities to equip governments.

We pool what partner universities already have, build what they lack together, and put it to work for the public bodies that have to make electrification decisions.

Decision support

Independent technical review

When a government faces an electrification proposal, a panel drawn from the network can test it against local evidence. Reviewers declare conflicts of interest, and partner universities have no commercial stake in the outcome.

Open review protocol and procurement guidance for electrification proposals
Total cost of ownership, energy demand, charging and grid impact checks
Operator economics for buses, minibus taxis and boda-bodas
Clear, plain-language findings that officials can act on

Shared resources

Open data, tools and methods

A shared toolkit and data protocol, built from partners' existing open-source work and calibrated with local data, so every partner can run credible analyses.

Capacity

Training for officials

Practical courses that help city, provincial and national officials specify, commission and evaluate electrification projects themselves.

Collaboration

Large multi-country projects

Partners take on work no single university could deliver alone, sharing people, equipment and expertise across borders.

Talent

Funding for research and people

SAFAR-E raises funds and channels them to partner universities through research grants, bursaries and fellowships, with particular attention to under-resourced institutions and early-career researchers.

The network

Nine lines, one interchange.

Sixteen universities in eight countries have joined SAFAR-E as founding partners, with a university in Tanzania set to join. Each country is a line on the network; every line connects through the shared toolkit, review protocol and Technical Advisory Committee.

            ZASouth Africa
            5 partners
          
Stellenbosch UniversityStellenbosch
University of Cape TownCape Town
University of the Western CapeCape Town
University of JohannesburgJohannesburg
University of PretoriaPretoria

            KEKenya
            4 partners
          
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and TechnologyJuja
Kenyatta UniversityNairobi
Strathmore UniversityNairobi
Egerton UniversityNjoro

            UGUganda
            2 partners
          
Makerere UniversityKampala
Uganda Christian UniversityMukono

            ETEthiopia
            1 partner
          
Addis Ababa UniversityAddis Ababa

            NGNigeria
            1 partner
          
University of BeninBenin City

            RWRwanda
            1 partner
          
Carnegie Mellon University AfricaKigali

            MZMozambique
            1 partner
          
Higher Institute of Transport and Communications (ISUTC)Maputo

            TZTanzania
            Joining
          
Dar es Salaam Institute of TechnologyDar es Salaam · to be confirmed

            CICôte d’Ivoire
            1 partner
          
Université Félix Houphouët-BoignyAbidjan

Governance

Run lean, steered by the partners.

SAFAR-E is a non-profit company registered in South Africa. Its income and assets are applied only to its objectives, and no activity promotes the economic self-interest of any director or employee beyond reasonable remuneration.

Board of Directors

Legal and financial oversight

Three to five directors drawn from the partner community or with demonstrated experience in the sector. The board meets quarterly.

Technical Advisory Committee

The partners' voice

Partner universities are represented on the committee, which shapes the research agenda and oversees SAFAR-E's deliverables. It meets twice a year.

Independence

Evidence without a sales interest

Reviews follow an open protocol, reviewers declare conflicts of interest, and tools are released as open source wherever possible.

Work with us

Three ways in.

Whether you are making a decision, building research capacity, or funding the transition, there is a role for you in the network.

Governments and public entities

Bring us a decision you are facing: a fleet procurement, a charging plan, a public transport electrification strategy. We will scope it with you and draw on the right expertise across the network.

Universities

African universities working on electric mobility, transport or energy systems can join as partners, gaining access to shared tools and data, joint projects, and funding opportunities.

Funders and partners

Support independent, locally grounded capacity that outlasts any single project, and reach research teams across the continent through one accountable organisation.

Contact

Talk to us about electrification.

SAFAR-E is coordinated from the Electric Mobility Lab at Stellenbosch University while the organisation is being established.

Prof Thinus Booysen Electric Mobility Lab, Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch, South Africa ev.sun.ac.za