Uhuru Kenyatta unveils Toyota partnership with Uwezo Fund
President Uhuru Kenyatta rides a motorcycle during the official opening of Toyota Kenya Limited Business Park, Toyota Kenya Academy and the launch of Toyota Tsusho Corporation Social Venture Fund for Africa July 16, 2014. PSCU
What you need to know:
Toyota Tshusho Corporation that launched the academy Wednesday, will also co-finance startups through a development fund to boost wealth creation.
Besides imparting accounting and entrepreneurship skills, the school will also offer training on earthmoving machinery and car maintenance.
Toyota’s business park is expected to create new job opportunities and boost growth of auxiliary services around it. The academy centre will accommodate about 100 students at any given time.
The government’s Uwezo Fund will partner with Nairobi-based Toyota Kenya academy to hone the business skills of young entrepreneurs, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said. Japan-based Toyota Tshusho Corporation, the parent company of Toyota Kenya that launched the academy Wednesday, will also co-finance startups through a development fund to boost wealth creation.
The academy was unveiled at the new Tsusho Business Park at Bellevue, off Mombasa Road in Nairobi.
Besides imparting accounting and entrepreneurship skills, the school will also offer training on earthmoving machinery and car maintenance.
“I am happy to note the academy will be partnering with the Uwezo Fund to set up the first collaboration to build real hands-on capacity for the youth and the women,” said President Kenyatta, adding that the public-private partnership would result in capacity-building among businesses.
Toyota’s business park is expected to create new job opportunities and boost growth of auxiliary services around it. The academy centre will accommodate about 100 students at any given time.
Mr Kenyatta said the training programme was aimed at propping up operations of the Uwezo Fund and the Youth Enterprise Development Fund by ensuring the youth make smart investment decisions.
He said young people, who form the bulk of the population, hold the key to unlocking the country’s economic potential and lifting it to a middle-income economy status by 2030.
Toyota Tshusho Corporation Social Venture Development Fund, with capital provided by Toyota Corporation, will promote and co-finance income generating projects that Kenyan youth have chosen.
Officials from Toyota did not disclose the amounts involved.
But during the first launch of the fund in Mauritius last January, top officials said the fund will hold Sh129.4 billion (¥1.5 billion) for Africa.
It will be a boost to most startups, which often struggle to grow due to lack of capital, with most entrepreneurs shying away from taking loans from banks. Funds from the Uwezo kitty were released two months ago to counties for disbursement.
Toyota is doing brisk business and is now the largest vehicle seller in the country. Toyota Kenya, which opened an assembly plant for its Hino buses in Mombasa, has also cranked up its car dealership business.
The firm joins Huawei and Samsung which already have training centres in Nairobi. Like the two, Toyota has partnered with local universities to offer technical and engineering courses to tap learners.
