TECH DIGEST- Sierra Leone has received vehicles built in Nigeria by Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Ltd. Two years after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, the automaker based in Nnewi, Nigeria, receives its first order from the government of Sierra Leone.

The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), under the direction of its Director General, Jelani Aliyu, has committed to supporting the local auto industry’s recovery by investing over N500 billion in the last few years. This export to Sierra Leone by Innoson marks a new chapter in Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and highlights the industry’s roaring engines.

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The IVM vehicles were delivered to the West after being produced to order by Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Defense. The numerous models of vehicles purchased during that government were for the current administration, according to Cornel Osigwe, Head of Corporate Communications at Innoson Group.

President Julius Maada Bio’s administration in Sierra Leone placed an order for the production of Innoson cars valued at $4.7 million for the officers of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, Osigwe continued (RSLAF).

In order to be distributed to military officers throughout the nation, the first batch of vehicles donated by Nigeria to Sierra Leone left Queen Elizabeth 2 Port in Free Town on Monday.

The responses have been overwhelmingly positive in Sierra Leone, with many Sierra Leoneans praising President Julius Maada Bio “for acting in line with the spirit of the continental agreement by opting for an African (IVM) brand of vehicles for the use of the country’s Armed Forces.”

Over time, Innoson Group has gained ground in the automotive industry. It is one of the few fully African car assemblers at the moment. With the latest breakthrough, intra-African commerce under AfCTA will advance even more. The Sierra Leonean armed forces are the first outside of Nigeria to use IVM goods. The Nigerian Army and IVM entered into a collaboration deal four years ago to provide the army’s personnel with custom-built vehicles.

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