The visiting President of Botswana , Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi , has applauded Uganda and its automakers Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) for taking the lead to produce electric buses in Africa.
Dr. Keabetswe Masisi expressed his country’s commitment to strategic ties between the two sister countries in the areas of science , technology and innovation . He said Botswana will buy electric buses from Uganda in a new spirit of trade and cooperation among African nations.
Bostwana President ,Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi being transported on the Kayoola EVS electric bus in Jinja city
“We want to partner with Uganda and Kiira Motors to develop the automotive industry on the African continent together . KMC should not delay it’s plans to exploit the huge export market in Africa under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement,” he stressed .
Dr. Keabetswe Masisi was visiting the Kiira Vehicle Plant (KVP ) -the biggest in East and Central Africa which will be producing electric buses among other product mix . He was in the country to attend the just concluded and well attended Non Aligned Movement (NAM) and G_77 plus China summits held in Uganda’s capital Kampala.
Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi planted a tree at the kiira Vehcile Plant . He was flanked by Ministers Judith Nabakooba of Lands and Dr. Monica Musenero of STI
The Bostwana President explained that just like Uganda his country was diversifying its economy from being a solely resources based to a knowledge based one -through the application of science , technology and innovation.
The visiting president was accompanied by the Minister of Lands Housing and Urban Development , Ms. Judith Nabakooba and was received at the KVP by Minister of STI Dr. Monica Musenero , KMC Executive Chairman Prof Sandy Stevens Tickodri -Togboa and the KMC CEO , Paul Isaac Musasizi.
Dr. Musenero told the visiting president that Uganda was ahead in its strategic mission to import substitution of end of life second hand vehicles by building new ones locally and leading the transition from Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles to electric ones (E-mobility.)-
Kiira Motors Corporation is a pathfinder state enterprise established in 2018 to champion value addition in the nascent mobility industry through technology transfer, contract manufacturing, and supply chain localisation. The core business of the corporation is to develop, make and sell sustainable mobility solutions in Africa.
Having a light moment with Prof Sandy Stevens Tickodri-Togboa ,the Executive Chairman of Kiira Motors Corporation
The Value Proposition
The motor vehicle business is a multi-billion-dollar industry around the world, with an estimated average annual turnover of about USD 3 trillion, which is 3.65 percent of the world’s GDP. The automotive industry is a major industrial and economic force worldwide. It is expected that over 110 million vehicles will be produced by 2025.
The African automotive market by itself was valued at USD 28.45 Billion in 2020, and it is expected to reach USD 39.87 billion by 2026. In 2017, Africa sold 1.2 million cars and by 2030, that number is expected to rise to 10 million.
