Nairobi
When US President Barack Obama comes to Nairobi this weekend to open an international business conference, motorbike taxi driver Evans Makori will watch him drive by, hoping his dreams come true.
The 35-year-old father of two school-age boys is a fan of new motorbike venture Kibo, which aims to build bikes fit for Kenya's roads and turn their drivers into small business owners. While in Nairobi, Obama is due to address the Global Entrepreneurship Summit where the focus will be on smart, educated young people with techy dreams.
But manufacturing and the proletarian aspirations of motorbike taxi drivers are as important if Kenya is to grasp its potential. Kenya's motorbike taxis, popular but dangerous, are as likely to land you in the casualty department as get you to a meeting on time.
Known as boda-bodas, they're cheaply made, poorly maintained and badly driven. Kibo hopes to change all that, turning out sturdy bikes in Kenya and providing maintenance, road safety and business training as well as micro-finance loans.
"Motorcycle taxis transport people and goods at an affordable price, creating mobility at the bottom of the pyramid," said Huib van de Grijspaarde, the 40-year-old Dutch entrepreneur, development economist and motorbike enthusiast behind Kibo Africa.
For him the project is about easing the flow of people and goods and releasing the entrepreneurial spirit by turning renter-riders into owners.
