THE Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo has described the newly launched Africar Ride-hailing brand as a platform that has the potentials to transform the transportation industry in Oyo State and the country in general, as it provides employment opportunities and low - cost rides for the people.
Africar is part of Stallion Group, a conglomerate home - grown company for 52 years that is into development business around commodities, agriculture automobile assembly and distribution of food products, mining agro industries, fisheries, steel manufacturing real estate, financial services, technology, logistics and shipping.
The minister, who spoke at the unveiling of the new ride - hailing brand in Ibadan, Oyo State, said that the company's focus on safety and security of passengers is commendable.
He said "my interest in the project however, is not limited to consumer benefit; my interest also lies in the fact that all the cars being used for this project are assembled in Lagos at Stallion's VON Badagry road plant.
Continuing, he said Africar is in partnership with the National Automotive Design & Development Council, NADDC, the parastatal under my ministry has developed the cars that we see here today," he said.
According to him, a ride-hailing app, which uses only locally assembled cars has the potential to transform the local industry. integration of Nigeria's automobile industry is a key presidential priority area.
"It is an area with huge potential and the ministry is working assiduously to mitigate the challenges it has faced and to revive the sector. Integration of Nigeria's automobile industry is a key presidential priority area. It is an area with huge potential and the ministry is working assiduously to mitigate the challenges it has faced and to revive the sector.
"If this initiative can be accepted nationally, it will support millions of families across the country and have a major impact on the local auto assembly and components manufacturing.
Africar, is a technology start-up with a vision to operate and develop transporting solutions through ride hailing. With a vision and mission, Africar embalms the following; reduce unemployment in Nigeria reliable and comfortable transport solutions in every state that we operate affordable transportation for the masses eco-friendly solutions for lower carbon emissions (introduction of electric vehicles) as well as assist and develop the automobile industry including the SMEs and other related ancillary Industries.
Mr. Sunil Vaswani, Chief Operating Officer of the company, stated that, the company in partnership with NADDC has introduced Bajaj Qute, a car that is assembled in Nigeria by Nigerians to support low cost and affordable transportation for the masses and environmentally friendly with 50% lower carbon emissions than a regular car.
According to him, "We believe in AFRICAR, we can help youth empowerment through employment in the automobile sector, from the assembly factory, service stations;" adding, "Africar, has thousands of drivers that have diplomas that need job opportunities. There's huge employment potential as relative to market potential. Creating growth of SMEs to support assembly plants, service stations and other ancillary industries. He explained that, every job creation is one family supported and with the growth of Africar in various cities, we would be supporting tens of thousands of families all over Nigeria" .
Also speaking the COO, Joe Mathews said that the customers of Ibadan have shown a lot of interest in the service and feel that the integral part of Africar is its reliability, disciplined and well-behaved drivers. "One of the most important aspects of Africar is that once you have booked a ride, you can rest peacefully as the driver will be at the doorstep to pick you up without canceling the rides which is a predominant issue in Nigeria."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The Marketing Manager, Ani Rosemary said, "After the soft launch in Ibadan, Africar has garnered more than 100,000 downloads and thousands of successful rides in a very short span of time. Africar has been well received in the city of Ibadan. The acceptance of the brand in Ibadan says a lot about the growth potential of the company in various cities of Nigeria. "
Gov. Seyi Makinde said since the inception of this administration in the areas of transport infrastructure and procurement of vehicles for mass transit, further highlighting the different infrastructure that the state has put in place to better the transportation needs of the people of Oyo.
According to him, the Africar launch, attests to the business-friendly atmosphere for investors, made possible by the administration, while congratulating Stallion Group on the initiative and maintained that "With this launch we will have more interesting fruits as we work together for the well-being of the people of Oyo State."
