A fully electric overland crossing from the Mersey to Lake Malawi to the Zambezi — through Europe, Morocco and eighteen West and Central African countries, following the route Dot Bekker drove solo in "Going Home to Africa."
Everyone's heard the argument against EVs in Africa: no chargers, no grid, no chance. That gap is real. It's also exactly why it's worth driving through it rather than around it — West and Central Africa carry some of the thinnest charging infrastructure on the continent, and it's precisely where the answer to "can this work" actually gets tested.
The route follows the path Dot Bekker drove solo and wrote about in "Going Home to Africa" — Morocco down through eighteen West African countries into Central Africa — chosen after the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden became unworkable amid the current Houthi-related shipping risk. It's one vehicle, one route, and a public log of what breaks, what holds, and what's actually possible.
The connection to Malawi goes back further than any of this — to a teacher, nearing retirement, who had once taught there and passed on a fascination with the country that never really went away. It resurfaced at university, in a closer look at Malawi's health systems, and became real in 2018 with a first trip out, followed by a second in 2019.
That 2018 trip was a full coast-to-coast crossing through Namibia, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, done alongside Goster Chibade and Manuel Magombo — both raised through FOMO in Mulanje — in support of Brendan Rendall's daily marathon across Africa, raising funds for FOMO's secondary school. Along the way, the same three visited the Tikondane project in Katete, Zambia twice, and returned as volunteers in July 2023.
Recharge Africa isn't a new idea bolted onto an old trip. It's a different route — this time via Morocco and West Africa rather than the 2018 coast-to-coast crossing — but the same two people and the same two projects, this time driven in an EV, and this time with Goster and Manuel travelling to the UK first so the journey to Lusaka and Lilongwe is made together, as a team, from the start.
Supports orphaned children and communities in Mulanje, Malawi. The 2018 crossing raised funds for FOMO's secondary school alongside Brendan Rendall's daily marathon across Africa. Goster Chibade and Manuel Magombo, both raised through FOMO, are driving this expedition too.
Helps twenty-two communities across Katete find sustainable ways to live off the land. Visited twice during the 2018 crossing, then again as volunteers in July 2023 — the second project this expedition exists to support.
Bring solar panels that stay in Malawi and Zambia permanently, and teach solar and wind power technology directly to young people in both countries — practical skills aimed at self-sufficiency and the start of their own micro-businesses. Malawi and Zambia have no shortage of sun; the aim is to help turn that into opportunity, not just aid. Part of the plan is staying in Malawi for a year or two after arrival to teach these skills directly, rather than dropping equipment off and leaving.
Currently planned as an MG ZS EV, modified for the crossing rather than left stock — raised suspension for rough-road clearance, with further modifications being worked out to suit the terrain and distance ahead. The vehicle itself remains subject to change as planning and sponsorship conversations continue.
West and Central Africa have some of the thinnest public charging infrastructure on the continent — most of what exists is concentrated in a handful of major cities, with long gaps between. Connector compatibility (CCS vs regional standards) has to be confirmed per-corridor, not assumed.
So far, this expedition has been self-funded out of personal pension savings. The current plan centres on an MG ZS EV, already raised for clearance, with a serious build still needed on top: skid protection, recovery gear, roof storage, and the parts that turn a good EV into one that can actually survive 16,000+ km of West and Central African road. We're open to corporate sponsors of any kind — MG, a dealer, a parts/accessories brand, or anyone else willing to back a genuine real-world test across the hardest charging corridor on the continent — and a sponsor providing the vehicle itself outright would be very welcome too. In return: full branding on the vehicle and this site, first-hand performance data in extreme conditions, and coverage across the expedition's press, social, and logbook output for the full crossing.
Peter Channon, based in Liverpool. A connection to Malawi that started at age ten through a teacher who'd once taught there, deepened at university studying Malawi's health systems, and turned into two trips — 2018 and 2019 — before Recharge Africa became the plan to go back properly.
Not travelling alone. Goster Chibade and Manuel Magombo, both raised through FOMO in Mulanje, are driving this crossing too — the same three who made the 2018 coast-to-coast run together. This time they're coming to the UK first, to prepare as a team before driving Liverpool to Lilongwe to Lusaka together.
No fundraising here — just route updates, charging-infrastructure findings, and the logbook as the plan firms up.
Support the expedition and its work with FOMO and Tikondane.
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