The head of German diplomacy continues her tour of West Africa. After Senegal, Annalena Baerbock is now in Ivory Coast. But in Dakar, there was talk of economic cooperation, particularly in the green transport sector. Senegalese electric buses, equipped with German charging management software, have in fact been deployed in Dakar. Annalena Baerbock had, in the program of her trip, a visit to these Rapid Transit Buses, operational since May and financed by the European Investment Bank and the World Bank.
More than 120 of these buses which have their own lane have been deployed. These use German charging software. “What we are delivering is a charging management system for electric buses in a city, which allows the bus to charge in a fast, but intelligent way, paying attention to costs, the state of the batteries, but also the electrical network” specifies Henri Depe Tchatchu, the manager of CarMedialab, the German company which provided the software.
A fruitful cooperation
During her visit, the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, took an interest in this bus system supported by the European Union’s Global Gateway initiative.
The buses put into circulation would save 59,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, and save travel time, in a city where the population of the Dakar region has increased significantly over the last 50 years, reaching currently around four million inhabitants.
The introduction of these buses has also created new jobs. A crucial point in a country where many young Senegalese are ready to take the path of irregular migration, despite the dangers. During her visit, the head of German diplomacy recalled the importance of giving perspectives to young people on site.
“Cooperation in the economic field is also essential to help stem youth unemployment in a region where training is not automatically anchored in the system. At the same time, we ourselves have great interests here, because it “There is great economic growth, many opportunities on the continent, but also in the region, in green technologies, but also in the development of infrastructure” explained the head of German diplomacy.
An expanding project
The European Union’s Global Gateway initiative plans to invest up to 300 billion euros in infrastructure in emerging and developing countries over the coming years. For Henri Depe Tchatchu, there is no doubt that the Africa is the continent of the future.
“It is the continent with the greatest margin in terms of population and economy, so the opportunities are great and we want to seize them. It is an important market for Germany, for our company and we have the possibility to bring innovative technology that will make the lives of Dakar residents easier…” he assures.
The installation of charging management software for electric buses by CarMedialab is expected to expand to other countries on the continent. According to Henri Depe Tchatchu, similar initiatives are underway in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya.
This article is originally published on dw.com
