Uganda Backs Electric Vehicle Project It Says Can Lead Continent

(Bloomberg) -- Uganda’s cabinet approved a plan to commercially produce electric vehicles its company has been designing, a project it describes as putting it at the forefront of African innovation in the industry.

The Kiira Electronic Vehicle Project seeks to spark investment by businesses in the manufacture of vehicle parts, increase demand for natural resources and create more than 2,000 direct jobs, a statement from the cabinet said.

Uganda, East Africa’s third-biggest economy, is pursuing the project through Kiira Motors Corp., a partnership between the government and Makerere University in the capital, Kampala. The company designed Africa’s first electric car in 2011, its first hybrid car in 2014 and a solar bus in 2016, according to its website.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fred Ojambo in Kampala at fojambo@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn, John Viljoen

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