Our investment
Description of the investment.
Description of the investment.
Electrigo is a full-stack electric bus leasing platform that supports India’s transition to zero-emission mobility. BII has provided a senior secured debt facility to finance the purchase of electric buses. This represents Elecrigo’s first long-term debt facility and is expected to help catalyse and mobilise future debt financing.
The investment supports the commercialisation of an emerging business model and accelerates the electrification of inter-city buses - a sub-segment that has seen limited adoption to date but offers significant potential for climate impact.
Impact information
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
What?
| Impact |
|---|
Reducing tailpipe emissions through the deployment of electric buses on inter-city routes in India, supporting climate objectives. The investment also contributes to job creation and improved economic opportunities for low-income workers (SDG 8.2). |
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How?
| Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|
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Direct: Electrigo will accelerate the adoption of electric buses on inter-city routes by working across the value chain -original equipment manufacturers, fleet operators and charging infrastructure providers - to address key barriers related to financing, operations and charging. |
By supporting Electrigo to purchase and lease 34 electric buses, the investment is expected to create direct and indirect low-income employment across the transport value chain, including roles such as drivers, helpers, cleaners, technicians, repair workers and supervisors. |
Who?
| Stakeholder | Geography | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Planet |
India |
There is currently low adoption of e-buses in India, especially in the inter city bus market, with e-buses accounting for less than 1% of India’s two million buses. |
| FTE workers |
How much?
| Scale | Depth/Duration |
|---|---|
|
Electrigo will purchase and lease 34 electric buses. The investment is expected to support the creation of around 9 direct jobs and approximately 225 indirect jobs across the transport value chain. |
Over their 12-year operating lifetime, the 34 electric buses are estimated to abate around 63,660 tonnes of CO2e, delivering long-term emissions reductions from inter-city transport. |
Contribution/additionality
| Contribution/additionality |
|---|
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Need for BII-enabled capital: While some debt is available from NBFCs and venture debt, the capital is not available in sufficient quantity, or at terms required by Turno to prove the commercial viability of the model. |
Risk
Execution RiskDue to the nascency of the model, Electrigo needs to prove operational and commercial viability of the model, failing which, it will not be able to raise commercial financing from banks. Having only recently launched 16 buses, the company is at a nascent stage. This risk is unavoidable and a key reason for the Kinetic qualification of this transaction. Stakeholder Participation RiskThe demand risk is outsourced to fleet operators who are responsible for ensuring adequate utilization of the buses by generating ticket sales and demand. Inability to do so would affect bus utilization and overall commercial viability of the model. To recoup their own leasing costs, operators do have some skin-in-the-game to ensure adequate utilization. Moreover, the overall risks can also be mitigated by working with experienced fleet operators that have deep market and operation knowledge. Efficiency RiskWhile the OEM has promised to replace the battery twice over an 8-10-year period, it remains to be seen how quickly the battery State of Health (SOH) will degrade. It is also unknown whether the replaced battery would replicate performance of a new battery. |
Environmental and social information
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Environmental and social summary
A high-level description of the environmental and social aspects of the investment. This may include a summary of key environmental and social risks identified during environmental and social due diligence (ESDD); key elements of an environmental and social action plan (ESAP); or ways in which we plan to support the investee improve environmental and social standards, such as through their environmental and social management system (ESMS); as well as any other priority areas agreed with the investee.
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Environmental and social risk
A risk category rating, which indicates the level of environmental and social risk associated with an investment. For an explanation of the categorisations used, see here. We consistently provide an environmental and social risk category for all investments screened from 2023 onwards.
Environmental and social summary
An ESAP was agreed to support the development and implementation of the ESMS, including partner screening, road safety training, and capacity building, as well as periodic monitoring of E&S performance and contextual risks related to fleet operatoins.
Environmental and social risk
Medium-High
Reporting and Complaints Mechanism
The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.
For any other general enquiries contact us at [email protected]
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Key facts
- Last updated
:
When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.
- June 2026
- Project number
:
An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.
- D7259
- Status
:
The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).
- Active
- Region
:
The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.
- South Asia
- Country
:
The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.
- India
- Sector
:
We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.
- Manufacturing
- Sub sector
:
The sub-sector that the investment is made into; this provides a more granular level of detail than the ‘sector’ information
- Passenger Ground Transportation
- Investment policy :
- Kinetic
- Investment type :
- Debt
- Start date :
- November 2025
- Amount :
- $4.85m
- Currency of investment :
- INR
- Domicile
:
The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.
- India
We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.
Type of investment portfolio that each investment is made under. Since 2014, we have run two investment portfolios: Catalyst and Growth. In addition, our Kinetic Portfolio enables us to manage concessional investment strategies.
For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.
For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.
For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.
For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.
For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.
For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.
The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.
For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.
The currency in which the investment was made.
- Last updated
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Gender and climate finance facts
- Climate finance
:
Indicates whether the investment is climate finance qualified or partially climate finance qualified and the type of climate finance (adaptation, mitigation or both). We define climate finance using the multilateral development bank (MDB) and the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) Common Principles climate finance methodology. See Common Principles for Climate Mitigation Finance Tracking and Common Principles for Climate Change Adaptation Finance Tracking. We provide the climate finance qualification and type for commitments from 2020 onwards, which is when we launched our Climate Change Strategy.
- Fully qualified
- Climate finance type
:
Mitigation: Indicates investments which, by avoiding or reducing GHG emissions or increasing GHG sequestration, contributes substantially to the stabilisation of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere – at a level which prevents dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system consistent with the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement
Adaptation: Indicates investments aimed at preventing or reducing the risks or vulnerabilities posed by climate change and increasing climate resilience. This includes both adapted activities and enabling activities to manage and reduce physical climate risks
Dual: Indicates investments directed towards activities contributing to both climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation and meeting the respective criteria for each category
The climate finance type of the investment is determined at time of commitment.
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- Mitigation
- Climate finance
