Kenyan Government and Toyota Tsusho to Mutually Collaborate, Advancing Consideration of a Wide Range of Businesses

Kenyan Government and Toyota Tsusho to Mutually Collaborate, Advancing Consideration of a Wide Range of Businesses

On August 15, 2012, Toyota Tsusho Corporation (Toyota Tsusho; headquarters: Nagoya City; President: Jun Karube) and the Republic of Kenya’s Vision 2030 Delivery Board (VDB; Director General: Mugo Kibati) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding comprehensive collaborations by both parties in the automobile, power and energy, petroleum and mineral resource, environmental infrastructure, agricultural industrialization fields and, enhance Investment Activities by establishing a Regional Vehicle Logistics Center and Central Parts Depot in Kenya.

VDB operates under the “Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030,”1 and manages Kenya’s national vision. Toyota Tsusho and VDB will form project teams within each business field to advance the respective business sector.

Kenya has garnered attention in recent years as a major African hub, as the nation has grown rapidly along with the economic development of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

Toyota Tsusho opened its first overseas office in Kenya in September, 1962. Kenya has been positioned as a “priority country” in the company’s GLOBAL 2020 VISION. In the automotive field, Toyota Tsusho has engaged in initiatives supporting the economic independence of the country, such as its business investments closely tied to the community, activities aimed at increasing automobile ownership, and local hiring and human resource development. Toyota Tsusho is moving forward in a wide range of businesses in Kenya with Kenya serving as the regional hub for 13 Eastern African countries.

By signing this MOU, Toyota Tsusho will secure its foundation as Africa’s number one trading company, and contribute to Kenya’s economic development by—in addition to continuing its existing automobile business—actively supporting the Kenyan government’s vision 2030,2 while accelerating projects in diverse business fields in Kenya and the East Africa region.