‘Trojan horse’: Zimbabwean startup says Toyota copied its invention after funding it

Toyota faces a lawsuit in federal court in the United States filed by the startup Mobility for Africa (MFA), which accuses the automaker of having copied its electric tricycle and appropriated technology. The lawsuit, filed in May in a California court, targets the Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) — the company’s philanthropic arm — and its consultancy, EXA Innovation Studio, on allegations of misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract and fraud.

At the center of the dispute is Hamba, an electric cargo tricycle created by MFA to serve smallholder farmers in rural areas of Zimbabwe. The vehicle carries up to 400 kg, reaches about 96 km per recharge and runs on swappable batteries, replenished at solar-powered stations. Founded in 2018 by Shantha Bloemen, a 21-year veteran of Unicef, the MFA accumulates international awards for innovation and access to energy. Since 2019, it has placed about 600 units on the country’s dirt roads, with women representing up to 70% of customers.

According to the complaint, the partnership was a “Trojan horse”. MFA’s founder, Bloemen, maintains that Toyota, after an initial investment of around R$ 1.97 million (US$380,000) in 2019, used the access granted to collect operational data, technical projects, and business models from the startup — information that, by contract, should remain protected.

In 2022, the foundation created a pilot project in Kenya, presented as a partnership with MFA. Last year, however, Bloemen says he discovered that TMF had passed on the technology to EXA, which then helped set up Songa Mobility — a for-profit company that offers “virtually identical” solutions, such as tricycles, solar charging hubs and battery swapping, and is vying for the same share of international funding. The startup claims that the maneuver left it without the necessary capital to survive.

“Instead of investing in the African entrepreneurs who created it, they chose to copy, replicate and control what we built,” Bloemen said. The MFA is seeking damages and a court order preventing the use of its intellectual property.

The episode comes at a time when Toyota is criticized for moving slower than some competitors in electrification. When contacted, the Toyota Mobility Foundation told The New York Times that it was aware of the case and that it is investigating it. The automaker has not yet submitted a formal response to the courts, and the accusations remain unproven.