An environmentally friendly transport company in Nairobi unveiled its first electric bus on Wednesday. 
Nairobi was once called the 'Green City in the Sun' for the lush parks that surround what is now the moral and economic capital of East Africa. The Kenyan-Swedish company Roam also wants this appellation to refer to the city's environmentally friendly mobility.
So it presented an electric bus in a city where polluting exhaust gases contribute to a particularly dense and aggressive smog.
"This is the first electric mass transit bus in Kenya, which we designed last year and co-produced with a global partner," said Dennis Wakaba. "This represents a shift towards better public transport, where people can travel comfortably and enjoy the ride with a clear conscience, because we are talking about zero emissions," said the Roam project coordinator.
The brightly painted bus squeezed through the infamous morning traffic in the city of nearly five million inhabitants, which has no state transport network. Most commuter transport is privately run in Nairobi, and Roam has stated that the electric bus's fares will rival those offered by its more polluting competitors.
While there is only one charging station in the metropolis of nearly five million inhabitants, the Roam team was not deterred. They wanted to encourage eco-friendly commuting in a city where smog-smothering minivans are a much more familiar sight.
The 77-seater bus has a top speed of 70 kilometres per hour and a battery that allows it to travel 360 kilometres before requiring a two-hour recharge.
It has also been designed to be accessible and inclusive for all.
"It can accommodate wheelchair users, the elderly, etc. So we have priority seats inside this bus," said Wakaba.
"Nairobi is considered a leader in innovation and we see it as a good starting point and a hub for the deployment of these buses," he added.
Roam - which also produces safari vehicles and electric motorbikes - says it plans to launch 100 electric buses over the next year.
It has also started the process of designing a smaller bus to go alongside the 77-seater.
Eighty per cent of Nairobi's commuters use matatus, poorly regulated and maintained minivans that are notorious for their frightening manoeuvres and trails of black smoke flowing behind their battered frames.
It is estimated that less than 500 of Kenya's 3.5 million cars are electric, despite the government making them cheaper than ever.
The transport sector accounts for 12% of Kenya's emissions, although this figure rises to 45% in Nairobi, according to government figures.
Earlier this year another electric mobility startup, BasiGo, unveiled a 25-seater bus with a range of 250 kilometres on the streets of Nairobi. Kenya derives most of its energy from renewable resources and is seeking to reduce CO2 emissions by 32% by 2030.