Adventure meets sustainability as the Zayed Sustainability Prize and Mazi Mobility set out to explore new horizons on the #Ride2COP28. Get ready to witness innovation in motion, as the way is paved for cleaner, smarter transportation solutions.
The Ride to COP28 is more than an adventure; it's a call to action. By embarking on this journey, the Zayed Sustainability Prize and Mazi Mobility aim to ignite conversations, inspire action, and catalyse a global movement toward conscious choices and a healthier planet.
The Zayed Sustainability Prize recognises nonprofit organisations (NPOs), small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and high schools for their impactful, innovative and inspiring sustainable solutions across the categories of Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action and Global High Schools.
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After exploring various roles in the sustainability field and developing tech expertise Jesse decided to make his vision of a greener, more efficient, and accessible urban transportation system into reality and created Mazi Mobility in early 2020 and started operations in 2021. Despite facing a hostile investment environment during the pandemic, Jesse and his team persevered, turning Mazi Mobility into what it is today: a trailblazer in reshaping the landscape of eco-friendly transportation. With a total estimated addressable market of about $12 billion in East Africa for electric motorbikes alone, Mazi Mobility’s ambition to make sustainable mobility accessible to all is only beginning.
To raise awareness of the need to reduce the carbon footprint of commuting, Jesse and Edwin, a passionate advocate of eco-mobility, will embark on an epic 3378 km journey on Mazi Mobility motorbikes from Nairobi to Dubai to attend COP28.
Driving an electrified future for Africa. Mazi's vision is to spearhead as Africa’s leader in moving people, data, and things. Mazi is not just taking a journey; but crafting a pathway for the continent's sustainable mobility future.
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Jesse's path to Mazi Mobility was paved with a deep-rooted desire for change.Growing up in the Eastlands of Nairobi, he witnessed firsthand the challenges ofpublic transportation and the environmental toll of matatus, Kenya’s publicbuses. This experience ignited his passion for sustainable mobility solutions,planting the seeds for what would eventually become Mazi Mobility. Jesse’sdedication to his dreams led him to the Africa Leadership Academy (ALA) wherehe went on to win the 2019 Zayed Sustainability Prize (ZSP) for a wastewatertreatment system that now supplies 300,000 litres of water annually to the ALAcampus. Through the ZSP’s network, Jesse was selected among leaders withscalable solutions to poverty to become a 2022 Rainer Arnhold Fellow of theprestigious Mulago Foundation
Edwin Mariwa is a 25-year old that loves touring on motorcycles. It has been 2 and a half years of him pursuing motorcycling as a hobby, and in those years, he has owned 3 bikes - a Dayun Flasher 200, a Benelli 302s, and currently the Suzuki GSX650F.His most recent and most ambitious trip was his 4,900 km journey around East Africa between August and September 2023, where he began in Kenya and touched base in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, over the period of 30 days. A trip he believes mentally and physically prepared him for future long-distance trips. He rode a good portion of this journey alone and some parts of it with R-Squad - the riding club he is part of.
Edwin and the R-Squad go on frequent overland journeys together - their slogan being ‘Riding for a Cause’. They have taken part in various CSR activities, with the most prominent project being a Pads and Pants drive for school going kids in Kakamega County. They are also spearheading a Boychild mentorship program in Shinyalu, called Macho Squad.R-Squad recently won the Riding Club of the Year (2023) award at the Afrika Mashariki Transport Awards. When Edwin isn’t riding through the streets of different African countries, he is a Product Designer - his full-time career. He is passionate about design and started off as a general graphic designer before narrowing down to product design.