It takes 7 to 8 hours to fully recharge the lead-acid batteries of Bangladesh's battery-powered rickshaws. Apart from this, the lifespan of these batteries is only 6-8 months. These battery-powered rickshaws also have less driving time due to the longer charging time. As a result, the driver's earnings also decrease. Tiger New Energy, an organization of two Harvard students, has come forward with a battery swapping station to solve this problem. From now on, the organization's swapping stations can replace dead batteries at low cost in just a few minutes. And these batteries will last 3 to 5 years.
Harvard graduate students Nicole Mao (33) and Yiwei Zhu (32) have been running one of Bangladesh's most successful startups for the past 3 years. They started this initiative after being stuck in Bangladesh during the covid pandemic. Their battery-swapping network—designed for original battery-powered rickshaws—is rapidly gaining popularity. Next year its number of stations will reach 1 thousand. These stations will serve hundreds of thousands of three-wheeled battery-powered rickshaws across the country.
Tiger New Energy CEO Nicole Mao said in an interview, 'There is a lot of demand here. As the economy grows, many people leave rural areas and come to cities in search of employment. This is creating demand for mobility.'
While three-wheelers in India and Thailand mainly run on petrol or natural gas, three-wheelers in Dhaka and other cities in Bangladesh are mainly electric. However, the long time it takes to recharge and the disposal of the lead-acid batteries used in these rickshaws at the end of their lifespan pose health and environmental problems.
Basically, Mao and Zhu saw the potential in this matter and started their enterprise. The Chinese couple came to Bangladesh during their spring break in 2021 for a one-week visit. But then due to the sudden outbreak of Covid-19, their flight to China was canceled and they were stuck for several months. At that time they were staying in a hotel in Dhaka. Finished Harvard classes via Zoom at night and planned startups during the day.
Mao's family owns a battery factory in China. And that is why they decided to start the same business in Bangladesh. It plans to import materials from China to manufacture more durable lithium batteries and sell them to local customers.
Tiger New Energy's chief operating officer Zhu said, 'It was an absolutely crazy idea. We took it upon ourselves to hire local workers, find land for the factory and train the workers.'
After initial work, they soon found that many rickshaw pullers were unwilling or unable to spend $400 all together to buy their product. However, their manufactured batteries are guaranteed to have higher mileage and durability than typical lead-acid batteries. Then they decided to introduce the battery-swapping method and it gradually became popular.
When drivers find their batteries running low, they go to an automated swapping station and swap in new batteries. The process becomes easier for them as voice guidance is given throughout the process. The stations are connected to the local electricity grid and some stations have solar panels that help in the charging process and help reduce the effect of load shedding.
The founders raised seed investment from Philippines' ADB Ventures and Singapore's Wavemaker Partners for the venture. Through this, they launched a lithium battery factory and set up the first 100 battery-swapping stations in Chittagong, one of the economic centers of Bangladesh.
The company is currently in the process of raising $30 million in funding. Nicole Mao said that after 2025, they want to set up at least 2,000 stations across the country, and next year they want to expand this initiative to Nepal and West Bengal in India (where e-bikes are popular).
However, a challenge for this startup is the unstable political situation in Bangladesh. The interim government is now focusing on stabilizing the economy and promoting fair market operations in the wake of the ouster of longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in July-August amid student protests.
In this regard, an economic consulting firm called Lightcastle Partners said, 'In spite of this change, Bangladesh's startup ecosystem is believed to prosper.' The organization also reported that since 2013, local initiatives have raised nearly $1 billion in funding.
Noting that there are great opportunities to work in Bangladesh, Nicole Mao said, 'It is very difficult to find an area in China or the United States where people's needs are unmet. But in Bangladesh, I always hear people saying, “You can do things we can't”.'
Source: Canadian media BNN Bloomberg
