Shakti Green Energy Pvt Ltd, an Indian energy solutions provider, and UTEGI Technical Enterprises (INTL) Limited, a Tanzania-based company, have signed a joint venture agreement to establish Plug and Ride (EA) Company Limited.
The new venture will focus on the assembly of electric vehicles in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with an anticipated investment of USD 7 million.
The partnership will combine UTEGI’s local expertise and Shakti Green Energy’s innovative energy solutions.
The equity distribution in the joint venture is set at 60% for the foreign joint venture partner and 40% for the local joint venture partner.
The facility will focus on assembling Complete Knocked Down (CKD) parts of Bajaj vehicles, as well as electric-powered three-wheeled motorcycles. Operations are expected to commence within six months.
During the joint venture signature, Otieno Igogo, Chairman of UTEGI, stated that the initiative is a direct result of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s visit to India last year, during which Tanzanian firms sought potential business partners in the subcontinent.
Gilead Teri, Executive Director of the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), expressed gratitude to President Hassan for her role in opening up the Indian market and congratulated the Tanzanian partner for seizing the opportunity to enter into a partnership. He further stated that this would be the first factory for electric vehicles in the country.
The TIC reported that joint investments accounted for 61% of the projects registered in Tanzania from September to December last year. During President Hassan’s visit to India, TIC entered into a cooperation agreement with two Indian institutions, the Institute of Investment India and the Jawaharlal Nehru Ports Authority, to facilitate the establishment of industrial parks in Tanzania for Indian firms.
