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We can’t continue vehicle importation in Africa – Adesina - DAILY TRUST
President of the Africa Development Bank Group (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has said Nigeria and African countries cannot continue to import automobiles.
Adesina stated that the African governments must support indigenous entrepreneurs and businesses with the right infrastructures especially power to thrive.
He spoke when he visited a Lagos-based Electric Vehicle Assembly plant, Saglev located in Imota outskirt of the state.
It was part of his ongoing efforts to support regional sustainable industrial development and climate-resilient transportation infrastructure across Africa.
Speaking with newsmen after a tour of the plant, Adesina emphasized the commitment of the bank to industrialization of Africa.
He said, “We support entrepreneurs and he is a great entrepreneur. We want to ensure we have companies that are also manufacturing automobiles in Africa. We can’t just be importing automobiles. So, manufacturing in Africa is a problem. For us, as African Development Bank, part of our work is industrialization. That is what you see here in Saglev plant.
“African manufacturers like this need power, infrastructure to be able to lower the cost of production. Even related to that, electric vehicles require power to charge. That is why, at the bank, in the last 10 years, we have connected more than 28 million people to electricity. We are investing heavily in energy, even right here in Nigeria.
“Saglev is doing the right thing in Nigeria. Helping him is going to be a good asset. Cost of capital is always a challenge. He has put his equity into this. Cost of capital is five times higher than any other part of the world. We are in a position to help in many ways to risk lending to Nigeria auto manufacturers like this with world class facilities to assemble and manufacture electric vehicles.
“We also have lines of credit we provide for many commercial banks in Nigeria to support companies like this and our role, my role is also to be a champion and make sure wherever I go, I champion a good course”.
The assembly plant had earlier hosted the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole who also pledged the federal government’s support for the plant.
Chairman of Saglev, Dr. Gbenga Faleye stated that demand for electric vehicles is on the increase, saying the plant is struggling to meet the demand for electric vehicles. He stated that with injection of capital, the production can be upscaled.
He reiterated the company’s commitment to driving electric mobility in Nigeria and across Africa, pleading for the current trade and infrastructure hurdles to be removed.
