Kiira doubled its senior staff this year

From the newsletter

Uganda’s ageing state-owned electric bus maker is on a hiring spree that would raise eyebrows even at a booming startup. The senior team increased by 48 people this year to a total of 92. This may only be the beginning. The Ugandan government intends to invest $1.74 billion by 2028, half of Burundi's GDP.

• The hiring spree at Kiira Motors has happened in two phases. The first was early this year between February and April, when the top team expanded by about half. Then in October alone it increased again by a quarter.  

• Unlike in many other African mobility companies, the team is almost exclusively domestic. The hires are Ugandans, who went to Ugandan universities and have worked at Ugandan companies. 

More details

• Kiira started in 2007 as a research project creating the first African-designed e-bus. Its main vehicle plant in Uganda was created in 2011 and has been expanded since. 

• The company is closely watched and supported by the government, which is setting it up as a national champion in a promising sector. Almost half the staff have studied at Makerere University, the country’s top educational institution. But these are not all highflyers in the industry mould. Only 4% of the senior team have an MBA, about a third of the sector average. 

• Kiira has so far produced about 27 e-buses and sold them to domestic clients including the Civil Aviation Authority, National Enterprise Corporation and Uganda Airlines. Kiira’s plant, however, is set up for 20 buses per day. The buses have a range of 200 to 300 kilometres per charge, tailored for urban mass transportation.

• While its corporate ethos is very Ugandan, the Kiira sales team is beginning to have success abroad too. Earlier this year, Tanzania said it is considering Kiira buses for its Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. Kiira is pursuing a sale to Eswatini as well.

• Still, the sales team is not what’s growing fastest in terms of staff numbers. The major focus internally is still on manufacturing. The top five most common degrees among staff are all engineering related. Operations, IT, engineering and research make up 66% of senior staff titles. This is not yet a company focused on sales.

Our take

• Who will own the future in Africa’s EV market – nimble private players or state-owned powerhouses? Kiira is very much an exception in Africa. Few if any governments are following the Ugandan path… which seems inspired by East Asian practices. But the difference seems to be that unlike in Chinese state-owned enterprises, the Ugandan state is not stepping back, inviting the private sector to co-mingle. 

• Kiira has an unusually low staff attrition rate. Almost nobody leaves the company other than to retire. That’s not always a good thing. It can be an indicator of a lack of dynamism typical of government departments. Let’s hope Kiira starts to function less like one.

• Earlier this month, the company announced the localisation of component sourcing. It aims to buy or build 65% of its vehicle components inside Uganda by 2030. This may be a good thing. It certainly shortens supply chains. But it would also leave it dependent on an immature industrial base. This smacks of political backseat driving from officials narrowly focused on job creation rather than long-term commercial success.