UGANDA – Al Mansour, an Egyptian multinational conglomerate, has opened an assembly plant in Ntinda, targeting the motorbike taxi’s industry, reports New Vision.
With taxes on vehicles now through the roof, most Ugandans have turned to motorbike taxi’s commonly referred to as Boda Boda. The boda boda industry is now attracting significant investment
“There is a 10% growth in the number of Boda Boda’s sold in Uganda every year. We anticipate that between 110,000 to 100,000 will be sold this year,” Ankush Arora, the Al-Mansour automotive chief operating officer said at the launch of the firm’s 30 motorbike plant and showroom.
He said that the firm is also looking to exploit the demand for motorcycles and spare parts in the East African Community (EAC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) where Uganda has preferential market access.
Arora noted that the firm’s assembly plant in Ntinda, a Kampala suburb, brings the group’s investment in Uganda to $3m (about sh11b). He said that 90% of the motorbikes on Uganda’s roads are for the Boda Boda industry, 5% are driven for personal use and the rest are by government agencies and non-governmental organizations.
The motorcycle taxis offer a cheap, convenient way to dodge traffic on busy roads. With 120,000 registered in Kampala alone, boda bodas provide a living to many people in the capital and beyond. Despite its small economy, Uganda’s bike market is sizeable.
Mansour Group has operations across the globe. The company is the second largest company in Egypt by revenue. It is the largest General Motors dealer in the world, and the fifth largest distributor of Caterpillar Inc. products globally.
It also has contracts in Egypt to represent a range of international brands, including McDonald’s, Chevrolet, Red Bull, UPS and Imperial Brands. It operates Egypt’s largest supermarket chain, Metro Markets, and the Kheir Zaman discount chain. The company also has a private investment firm, Man Capital, based in London.
The company is privately held and managed by the Mansour brothers Mohamed, Youssef and Yasseen, who are board members.
The Mansour Group has 60,000 employees, and it has its presence in more than 100 countries and total revenues exceeding $6 billion.
