In developing countries like Kenya, where public transport is unreliable or inexistent, motor bikes offer an affordable way to get around–particularly through dense traffic and unkept roads. But rough road conditions and an unregulated motorcycle market also mean that mode of transport is dangerous. According to a 2010 report from the World Health Organization –the latest available–motorcycle-related deaths increased five-fold between 2005 and 2010, and in the latter year made up 7% of road traffic deaths.

Dutch economist and social entrepreneur Huib van de Grijspaard thinks that providing a motorcycle that is designed both for off-road conditions and city traffic can make a major difference in fatality rates. Last year, van de Grijspaard started working on a company called Kibo to produce safe, high-quality motorbikes affordably, by manufacturing and assembling them in Kenya, where they are sold. He brought on the design studio Greenspace to do the branding, and last week the company released its first motorbike, the K150, in conjunction with its official launch.

Both the product and the branding have been designed not only to make the motorcycle a safer option for Kenyans, but also to educate people about motor safety in a place where traffic laws are unenforced and many don’t even wear helmets because of prohibitive pricing. Greenspace founder Adrian Caddy explains that van de Grijspaard and the Kibo team designed the motorcycle for the needs of the boda-boda drivers–the unofficial taxis of cities like Nairobi, driven mostly by entrepreneurial young people looking to make money after school–as well as other frequent motorcycle drivers.

“The transportation situation there is roads that are choked with traffic and no regulated transport services,” says Caddy. “[Most people] have not been properly trained. It’s not regulated. . . . It’s a major concern.”

However, when Caddy and his team went to Kenya to do research for the branding, they found that at $3,000, the motorcycles were still too pricey for what the company had perceived to be its target audience. Though affordable for a bike of that quality and safety, boda-boda drivers still wouldn’t be able to afford it. So they looked for other use cases and found a large need in the medical community, the NGOs, and in couriers of companies like DHL and Western Union. These places were in need of quick transport that could carry heavy loads safely, and their presence would ultimately make traffic safer.

The design of the K150 suits this purpose nicely. The frame is made out of welded steel tubing, making the bike incredibly strong and deserving of its name, which in Swahili means “hippo.” Caddy notes that the K150 can hold upwards of 250 kilos–or over 550 pounds–which is essential for doctors, aid workers, and cargo carriers that are transporting a lot of baggage. It includes a suspension system for cargo, and the durable, inflexible frame also makes it safer.

The frame has a built-in crash bar in the front, designed to disperse the force of impact in a crash. While some motorcyclists opt to add “frame sliders”–essentially, a removable crash bar–to their motorcycles as protection, most motorbikes do not come equipped with one. The K150 also has dual headlights that provide enough light to navigate roads at night with no street lights, something Caddy says is a big factor in the crash rates in developing countries. And if one light fails, there’s still another working one.