TheCable

Catriona Laing, British high commissioner to Nigeria, says the UK government, through its manufacturing Africa initiative, will support Metro Africa Xpress (MAX), a tech-enabled company, on the assembling of electric vehicles in Nigeria.

Manufacturing Africa is a UK funded initiative, which seeks to promote industrialisation in East and West Africa by attracting £1.2 billion in foreign direct investment and creating 90,000 jobs by 2026.

Speaking during a courtesy visit to MAX office on Monday, Laing said the UK government is delighted to scale up support for MAX, because of the company’s brilliant innovation and solutions.

“It is amazing to see young minds come up with solutions to real problems that can help us tackle the challenges faced with climate change,” she said.

“The company is also doing a great job of providing two, three and four-wheel vehicles for commercial drivers and health insurance.”

Laing said the commission looks forward to seeing the innovation rolled out across Africa and also in the UK.

Also speaking, Adetayo Bamiduro, chief executive officer of MAX, expressed concern over the impact of gas-powered vehicles on climate change, adding that greenhouse gas emission will hit 2.3 gigaton (Gt) in Africa mobility by 2030 if the adoption of electric vehicles does not take off.

He commended the UK government for its support, adding that the company is committed to unlocking networks and relationships required to drive adoption of manufacturing electric vehicles in Nigeria.