A forum eyeing cooperation among motorcycle industries in Africa has opened in the Rwandan capital Kigali with participants stressing the dominant role played by commercial motorcycles in public transport across the continent.
The forum which began on Thursday, brings together players, dealers, distributors, investors and stakeholders in the motorcycle industry aims to showcase business and investment opportunities as well as discuss the future of the industry, according to the organizers
A study published in 2017 estimated that the two-wheeler market in Africa will cross the $9bn mark by 2022 “due to growing populations, rising urbanization and an absence of reliable public transportation systems” in many African cities.
The largest markets, according to the study, are South Africa, Nigeria and Tanzania, followed by Kenya, Algeria, Uganda, Egypt, Morocco, Angola and Ethiopia.
Since last year, Rwanda introduced a project of electric motorbike which is part of an ambitious national push to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 16 percent by 2030.
The project aims to help Rwanda achieve its target of becoming a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 but also help to accelerate the transition from petrol-fueled motors — particularly motorcycle taxis, which account for more than 80% of the total motorcycles in Rwanda — to electric ones, it said.
CU/as/APA