Honda opens motorcycle factory in Kenya

GLOBAL motorcycle manufacturer Honda has officially launched its factory in Kenya.

This makes Kenya the second country the second in Africa to have a Honda factory.

Honda motorcycle Kenya Chief Executive Officer Yasuhiro Imazato says the factory has the capacity to make 25,000 motorcycles a year.

He says the factory is set to meet the increasing demand as the Boda Boda market in Kenya makes up 90 percent of all 100,000 motorcycles sold in the country annually.

He says the launch is a culmination of a two-year research conducted in Kenya by the company to find out what will best satisfy the Kenyan consumer.

“During the two years I spent every day driving all around Kenya and to take preparation for getting ready to start the business here and as I looked at the large number of Boda Boda riders in use all over Kenya what I felt was the huge potential of this country,” he said.

Launching the plant, Deputy President William Ruto says the investment is a demonstration of the confidence that investors have in our country.

Ruto assured of the government’s commitment to create the necessary environment for investors such as Honda to expand their investments in the country.

Ruto said the government is working on reducing cost of energy through the realization of the government’s 5,000 Megawatts target.

He says over 40 percent of industrial production goes to energy.

Ruto also revealed that the government is in the process of creating 135 new technical institutions around the country in the next three years.

The Deputy President says this is in a bid to create enough manpower to drive industries and factories in the manufacturing sub-sector.

“We realize the importance of competent based technology centred training. We are working with donors to build these institutions so as to reduce the gap found in technical skills,” he said.

Ruto has also asked Kenyans to be biased towards goods manufactured locally.

He says all motor vehicle bought by government will have to be manufactured locally.

He also says the government will expand and modernize security in the country in order to secure and attract investors.