World Bank’s IFC To Infuse $37 Mn In GreenCell Mobility

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank, has said that it is investing $37 Mn (INR 326.6 Cr) in Eversource Capital-backed shared electric mobility startup GreenCell Mobility in a mix of debt and equity.

IFC also said that it is also “providing” $100 Mn (INR 882.7 Cr) in financing to another electric bus manufacturer, JBM Ecolife Mobility. With these twin investments, IFC finds itself firmly entrenched as a backer in India’s growing EV bus segment.

“These investments will help create 12,000 jobs, including opportunities for women, and deploy 4,000 e-buses and charging stations across 39 municipalities in Maharashtra, Assam, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, and New Delhi,” said IFC.

In a statement, the World Bank Group’s investment arm also said that the capital infusion will look to further accelerate electric mobility, reduce transport emissions and position India as a global EV manufacturing hub.

“… By leveraging innovative financing and a pioneering payment security mechanism (PSM), we’re mobilising private capital at scale to support national priorities. India’s leadership is accelerating its own transition while shaping how cities worldwide finance the next generation of mobility solutions,” said IFC managing director Makhtar Diop.

For context, PSM is a government-established fund to ensure timely payments to manufacturers under the PM-eBus Sewa scheme to support the deployment of electric buses in India. 

Founded in 2019, GreenCell Mobility focuses on deploying and operating electric buses for public transportation. It acquires electric buses via contract manufacturing arrangements with vendors and then deploys them for both intercity and intracity travel.

Backed by Eversource Capital, a joint venture between Everstone Capital and Lightsource bp, GreenCell primarily operates under the brand NueGo. 

GreenCell Mobility claims to operate more than 1,200 electric buses in India, including 900 on intra-city routes, 300 under its NueGo brand for inter-city travel, and 50 for MSRTC. The company also runs 270+ charging stations to support its fleet.

The latest round adds to GreenCell Mobility’s existing funding stack. In March last year, the company raised $36.7 Mn from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) for its electric bus project in Uttar Pradesh. 

Before that, it also secured $55 Mn in debt financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Clean Technology Funds (CTF) to scale up its EV bus operations.

It competes against the likes of Zingbus, Fresh Bus, LeafyBus, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland (via Switch Mobility) and others in the EV bus segment. The competition revolves around securing large government contracts, building efficient charging infrastructure, optimising operational costs and delivering affordable green mobility solutions. 

Backed by government policies and subsidies, the electric bus manufacturing ecosystem continues to see healthy investor interest. Last year, Fresh Bus closed its Series A round at $10.4 Mn while Zingbus also secured $9 Mn from bp Ventures. 

At the heart of all this is India’s growing EV market, which is projected to become a $132 Bn opportunity by 2030.