AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER
A motor vehicle manufacturing company and a business that specializes in housing, healthcare and industrial real estate, have formed a unique partnership to promote an environmentally-friendly lifestyle across Ghana.
The objectives of the special partnership between VW-Ghana and BlackIvy are:
- To increase affordability of homes and passenger vehicles in Ghana
- To provide modern and green mobility
- promote a larger value chain for the automotive manufacturing industry at BlackIvy’s WestPark Industrial Park in Ghana’s resource-rich Western Region
The strategic collaboration between VW-Ghana and BlackIvy was signed on September 16 in Accra, Ghana, in the presence of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the vice president of Ghana and Robert Ahomka-Lindsay, Ghana’s deputy minister of trade and industry.
The plan by VW-Ghana and BlackIvy for sustainable mobility including assessing the viability of reducing carbon emissions by piloting a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling station for trucks and commercial vehicles. This pilot would be the first CNG filling station in West Africa, while a fleet of CNG trucks could save on logistics cost, reduce carbon emissions by up to 20%, and decrease harmful particles, a driver of air pollution and associated health risks, by approximately 85%.
Long-term, the partnership could deliver Volkswagen electric vehicles and the associated charging infrastructure to Ghana.
“The strategic partnership we formed today with BlackIvy is part of Volkswagen’s greater goal of growing its presence in the Sub-Saharan region, in a way that benefits the citizens of this region,” said Rochelle Reddy, Volkswagen Group South Africa’s Director of Sub-Saharan Africa Operations. “With BlackIvy, we have found a partner with the same values. This agreement paves the way for sustainable and accessible mobility in Ghana.”
“BlackIvy launched in Ghana six years ago to deliver essential products and services with a relentless focus on quality. In Volkswagen, we have found a partner that shares our commitment to Ghana made craftsmanship and innovation,” said Jean-Louis Warnholz, BlackIvy’s Managing Director. “We are excited to join Ghana and Volkswagen in developing smart, sustainable industries that create new economic engines for growth for the country.”
Volkswagen is strengthening the regions and focusing on new up-and-coming markets as part of its TRANSFORM 2025+ brand strategy. Alongside North and South America as well as China, the Sub-Saharan Africa region plays an increasingly important role. Although the African automotive market is comparatively small today, the Sub-Saharan region has the potential to develop into an automotive growth market of the future.
The VW-Ghana and BlackIvy partnership follows the official launch of local assembly of vehicles by Volkswagen Ghana in August this year.
BlackIvy Ghana is a subsidiary of BlackIvy LLC, a U.S. company that builds and grows commercial enterprises across Sub-Saharan Africa. BlackIvy Ghana operates businesses in housing, healthcare, warehousing and industrial real estate.
