Kayoola news: Uganda's first solar powered bus launched in Kampala

Ugandan automobile company Kiira Motors Corporation introduced what it claims to be Africa's first solar-powered bus. Named Kayoola, the 35-seater bus has solar panels installed on its roof, which has two batteries that can enable the vehicle to move for about 80 kilometers. It reportedly takes only an hour to fully charge its batteries.

A prototype of this electric bus was presented on Feb. 16 at a stadium in Kampala, Uganda's capital, via test drive. This is a great milestone for the country, and President Yoweri Museveni attended the launch.

According to the BBC, the manufacturer of this solar-powered bus aims to secure partners who can share with its vision to manufacture vehicles for public utilization. Kiira Motors' CEO Paul Isaac Musasizi also envisions it as a tool to provide employment to more than 7,000 people by year 2018. For this vision to be realized, it would require other foreign automobile companies that manufacture vehicle parts to help in the mass production. The bus would cost up to $58,000 if it would be manufactured in bulk. CEO Musasizi said this cost is ambitious.

By 2039, KMC hopes to be able to manufacture all the vehicle parts and assemble already in Uganda.

Musasizi's entrepreneurial mind led to the conceptualization of this solar-powered bus.

"In Uganda, we have non-stop sun. No other countries manufacturing vehicles are on the equator like Uganda. We should celebrate that, and make a business out of it," he told CNN. "I'm really humbled by the response to the bus so far, not only in Uganda but internationally. By launching the bus, we are saying Uganda now has the potential to add value in the world, especially within electric technology."

Since the bus has the capacity to travel only up to 80 kilometers., it is constrained to be used in the urban areas initially.