[Interview] Bob van der Bijl, Managing Director, Kibo Africa, Kenya
Dutch businessman, Bob van der Bijl is Managing Director of Kibo Africa, the automotive company responsible for the first locally manufactured motorcycle in Kenya, particularly adapted for the African terrain.
His interview with Africa Business Communities:
Would you please introduce Kibo Africa?
Kibo Africa Ltd is the first motorcycle company that takes Africa seriously. We have developed a motorcycle – the Kibo K150 – especially for Africa. We are also the only motorcycle that is officially “Made in Kenya”; our motorcycle is fully assembled in Nairobi from parts that come from over ten different countries. Our objective is to maximize local content and to be a leader in automotive manufacturing in Africa. Besides the motorcycle, we also supply gear & accessories and training for riders at all levels.
In which industries does Kibo Africa operate and who are your clients?
We are in the automotive industry – as I said we are the odd one out because we design for Africa and produce in Africa! Our current model is geared towards professional (heavy) users. You can think of security companies, couriers, food delivery, farmers and producers of consumer goods that are looking for “last mile(s) distribution”. Besides companies, we also supply to NGO’s (for example organisations with rural clinics) and government institutions (for example extension services, water companies andinspectorates). My dream is that the Kenya police will one day proudly ride the Kibo bike! Of course our bike is also ideal for private individuals that want to avoid hours of traffic jams each day.
What makes the K150 different from other bikes?
Simply put, the K150 is designed to perform outstandingly in the African context. It is doing well on tarmac with potholes, but is also a star in off-road – we have seen that during the rainy season in Kenya, where we outperformed bikes with much bigger engines! We have gotten a lot of praise as well for the easy handling of the bike: though big and heavy duty, it rides smooth and easy!
A second selling point is that Kibo is the only company that is actively promoting rider training and the use of protective gear. Road safety is a big issue in Africa and because of unsafe behavior there are too many accidents. We want to make an impact by ensuring that there is training available at all levels.
A third note of importance is that we are very keen on after sales services: this means that we have plenty of spare parts available, that we train local mechanics in maintaining our bikes and that we have a “Flying Squad” of Kibo mechanics that can come to repair on the spot when necessary.
The development of the motorcycle has taken five years and hundreds of trips to Africa by our design team from Holland. We can safely say that it is pretty unique that we manage to produce a product that can compete with famous big names in the industry from day one.
What drew you to the Eastern part of Africa to do business?
Our company has a Pan-African outlook. East-Africa and especially Kenya has already a relatively strong tradition in manufacturing and we thought that Kenya would make a good manufacturing hub. We intend to export our motorcycles from Kenya to the surrounding countries. In terms of available qualified staff, Kenya scores quite well and we have pretty good inbound logistics. Needless to say, the East African Community is probably the fastest growing region in Africa.
What support did you find in the Kenyan market/institutions in the creation of the K150?
Especially since we started producing in December 2015, we have found that the Kenyan authorities are getting very excited by the fact that we are doing exactly what they like to see: creating local value, promoting local sourcing and transferring knowledge. Our shareholders are from the Netherlands, but they want to limit the number of expats to one. So that means I work with a Kenyan team that is highly skilled and very motivated. I have found out that Kenyans recognize the importance of local manufacturing and we have had a lot of support from KAM, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers. KAM is one of the best private sector organizations I have ever seen and is now helping us in exporting to other EAC countries.
What makes the K150 particularly suited to the Kenyan/African environment?
It is really heavy duty – everything is designed to allow for heavy usage in difficult circumstances. I think we even have the world record in terms of payload: the K150 can carry 250kg whereas it only weighs 130kg itself.
What can be done by entrepreneurs and government to stimulate the business environment in Kenya?
That is quite clear: local production has to be stimulated. The Kenyan government has already adopted a “buy Kenyan” strategy and I think the promotion of intra-African trade is helping the East African Community. I believe that logistics is still expensive, but new railways and ports will bring down these costs in the coming years. I think all Africans have to be proud of what is produced in Africa instead of thinking that imported goods are always bette.
What can you say about the targets, plans and ambitions of Kibo Africa in 2016?
This year we want to make sure that all large fleet owners know about Kibo. In the past months we have provided many companies with a demo bike, for them to be able to test the K150 in their daily operations. I am extremely happy that the response has been overwhelming; the riders love the bike and the fleet managers are quite taken by the excellent value for money. The riders of one company even brought the Kibo for the 1st of May parade in Nairobi! In terms of targets we know very well that B2B business has a long lead time. So for this year we don’t expect huge quantities, but in the coming years we want to see rapid growth in sales, not only in Kenya, but in the surrounding countries as well.
How would you assess Kenya’s economic performance in 2015?
Kenya has a very resilient economy. The Kenyan government is very aware that the private sector is the engine of the economy. The president himself has said that there are still serious governance issues, but despite all that it is clear that Kenya is becoming the destination of choice for companies that want to start up their business in Africa. Although Kenya will start to export oil in the coming years, this is really a country where people are working hard for their income – so rather a “resource blessing” than a resource curse. For 2016 the outlook for Kenya is positive, with growth predictions over 6 per cent.
Which African countries do you predict will perform best in 2016?
This is a tricky question! Some countries have a very low income per capita and for them it only requires a few large investments to arrive at high economic growth. The performance also depends on political stability a lot and that is not an easy thing to predict. Coming back to the “resource blessing”, if I were an investor I would put my money in the bigger lower middle income countries with a low dependency on export of natural resources and a strong private sector with a government that has a liberal attitude; therefore Kenya and Ivory Coast would be smart choices. Also Ethiopia is on track to post high growth figures once again.
I also believe that Nigeria will in the end benefit from the current oil crisis: that country has huge potential but was more or less sedated by the “easy money” from the oil business. Although growth in Nigeria will be limited this year, it could be the right moment to get in at good value as an investor.
www.linkedin.com/in/bob-van-der-bijl
