DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, June 22, 2026/APO Group/ —

• With a fresh $55M million investment from Chinese growth-stage fund NewTrails Capital, Spiro consolidates backing from a powerful consortium of global institutional and impact investors and closes its last funding round to $270M.
• As African economies push to reduce dependence on imported fuel, reinforce energy and industrial sovereignty and modernize urban transport systems, the record closing of this last round confirms global investors are increasingly turning to scalable EV infrastructure platforms and Spiro’s strong ambitions for the year to come.
• Already operating across seven of Africa’s fastest-growing urban markets, Spiro will further accelerate the expansion of Spiro’s battery-swapping network, industrial footprint and next-generation electric vehicles (EV) infrastructure across high-growth African markets.​

 

Spiro (https://www.Spironet.com), Africa’s leading electric vehicle (EV) and clean energy infrastructure platform, today announced the successful closing of its latest funding round at $270 million.

 

This milestone follows a newly finalized $55 million investment from NewTrails Capital, a prominent Chinese growth-stage investment fund focusing on emerging markets with strategic locations in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Nigeria.

 

Scaling Africa’s next-generation mobility and energy ecosystem

 

This capital injection positions Spiro among the continent’s most heavily backed Africa’s e-mobility and energy ecosystem.

 

Building on the support of long-standing institutional partners such as FEDA, Spiro’s latest equity round also draws global capital from Europe and Africa, Impact Fund Denmark, Equitane and FEDA, on top of the recent backing from Nithio and the Africa Go Green Fund.

 

“I would like to thank NewTrails Capital for believing in Spiro’s model and supporting our unique tech, energy and innovation journey. Having deployed 100,000 electric vehicles and 2,500 smart-swap stations across seven active markets, Spiro has firmly moved past the proof-of-concept phase. Partnering with NewTrail Capital’s deeply experienced team marks a powerful new chapter for Spiro as we prepare for the next steps of our pan-African and international expansion”, stated Gagan Gupta, Founder of Spiro and Chairman of Equitane.

 

Yufan Zhang, Founding Partner of NewTrails Capital, added:

“We believe Spiro is driving a profound “energy revolution” across mobility use cases in Africa. This represents not only a vast and highly imaginative market opportunity, but also the potential to grow into an infrastructure-like business that creates meaningful commercial, social, and environmental value.

In our view, Spiro’s core strengths lie in its deeply localized operating capabilities, vertically integrated supply chain, digitally enabled ecosystem, sound unit economics, and strong ability to scale rapidly. More importantly, Spiro has systematically integrated vehicles, batteries, energy replenishment, payments, and service networks into a solution that is truly tailored to the needs of African users, effectively addressing long-standing structural pain points in the local market.

As a Chinese fund committed to investing in Africa’s energy transition and green technology, we are also very encouraged to see Chinese supply chains and financing playing an increasingly important role in this process. Spiro is still a young company, and everything today is only the beginning. We look forward to continuing to fulfill our role as a long-term investor, contributing our resources and experience, growing together with Spiro, and helping accelerate Africa’s new energy transition.”,

 

This partnership will be instrumental to support Spiro’s current manufacturing and supply chain localisation effort on the continent in particular with Chinese suppliers.

BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 21, 2026/APO Group/ –President of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Ilham Aliyev received, on June 18, a delegation comprising the heads of member institutions of the Arab Coordination Group (ACG) (https://TheACG.org), as well as Arab Ministers of Finance and senior officials participating in the 2026 Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group in Baku.

 

The delegation included H.E. Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group; Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, President of the OPEC Fund for International Development; Mr. Abdullah Khalil Al-Musaibeeh, President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa; Dr. Fahad Alturki, Director General and Chairman of the Board of the Arab Monetary Fund; Mr. Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Fund for Development; Mr. Hammam bin Nasser bin Juraied, Executive Director of the Arab Gulf Programme for Development; and Mr. Thamer Al-Failakawi, Director of Operations at the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.

The delegation also included H.E. Mr. Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; H.E. Mr. Yaqoub Al-Rifai, Minister of Finance of the State of Kuwait; H.E. Mr. Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Minister of Finance of the State of Qatar; and Mr. Ali Abdullah Sharafi, Assistant Undersecretary for International Financial Relations at the Ministry of Finance of the United Arab Emirates.

During the meeting, President Ilham Aliyev underscored the importance of the participation of the heads of ACG member institutions and Arab Ministers of Finance in the 2026 Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group. He also highlighted the strong and active cooperation between Azerbaijan and the member institutions of the Arab Coordination Group, noting that several projects are currently under implementation and stressing the importance of the documents to be signed in this regard.

Expressing gratitude for the gracious welcome extended in Azerbaijan, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser conveyed the delegation’s appreciation to President Ilham Aliyev for the reception. He also expressed his high appreciation for the President’s continued support for strengthening cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Arab Coordination Group.

The two sides reviewed the broad opportunities available to further expand the partnership between Azerbaijan and ACG member institutions. They also underlined the importance of Azerbaijan’s favorable investment climate in supporting the implementation of joint projects with the member institutions of the Arab Coordination Group.

Following the meeting, and in the presence of the President of Azerbaijan, a loan agreement was signed for the “Construction of the Sumgayit New Wastewater Treatment Facility” project. In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding was exchanged to expand cooperation between the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan State Water Resources Agency, and members of the Arab Coordination Group on the “Construction of Water Supply and Sewerage Systems for 33 Residential Settlements in the Absheron Peninsula” project.

At the conclusion of the meeting, President Ilham Aliyev presented the “Dostlug” — Friendship — Order to H.E. Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, in recognition of his contribution to the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Islamic Development Bank.

H.E. Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser expressed his sincere gratitude to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan for this high distinction and for the appreciation shown for his efforts to strengthen cooperation between Azerbaijan and the IsDB Group.

BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 21, 2026/APO Group/ –The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) (http://ICIEC.IsDB.org), a Shariah-based multilateral credit and political risk insurer and member of the Islamic Development Bank Group, has provided insurance support for the construction of the Akii-Bua Olympic Stadium in Uganda. The transaction was signed on the sidelines of the IsDB Group 2026 Annual Meetings, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 16 to 19 June 2026.

 

ICIEC’s support was provided through a Specific Transaction Policy (STP) extended to SAMCO National Construction Company of Egypt covering a supplier credit facility. The project has a total contract value of approximately USD 130 million, with an insured amount of USD 65 million and a coverage level of 90% against the non-honouring of a Ministry of Finance guarantee issued by the Government of Uganda.

 

The Akii-Bua Olympic Stadium is part of Uganda’s efforts to strengthen national sports infrastructure and expand its capacity to host regional and international sporting events. Located in Lira City, the project is expected to support youth athletics, promote community participation in sports, and contribute to healthier lifestyles.

 

During construction, the project is expected to create employment opportunities and increase demand for local materials and services. In the longer term, the stadium is expected to stimulate regional economic activity by attracting sporting events, tourism, and related commercial services, while supporting urban development in Lira and surrounding areas.

 

Commenting on the transaction, Dr. Khalid Khalafalla, Chief Executive Officer of ICIEC, said: “This project demonstrates how well-structured risk mitigation can help deliver social infrastructure with lasting development value. By supporting the Akii-Bua Olympic Stadium, ICIEC is contributing to a project that will serve communities, empower young people, and create new opportunities for economic activity in Northern Uganda.”