WELCOME TO COOT2 AFRICA! Watch this page in the upcoming weeks for more information about our new endeavor! For more information, contact us or our COOT2 Africa Rep:
Coot2 - Africa 250-0830-4186 - Kilgali, Rwanda D'amour Sharangabo sharangabo@coot2.com
See below for our question & answer session with President Dave Donaldson, pictures of the COOT2 in Africa and a slideshow of our trip!
Q & A Session With President Dave Donaldson I sat down with Dave Donaldson to get the scoop on what's going on with the COOT2 being in Africa. We hope the questions we chose, answer most of yours, but if not, feel free to contact us or post something on our message board!
1.How Did COOT2 become involved with Africa and why take it international? Damour Sharangabo contacted me about our product. He had previously been involved in another business deal to take a similar product to Africa that had no worked out as planned. We were asked to attend a Rwandan Business conference in New Jersey to meet their people and discuss the uses the COOT2 may have in Africa. It seemed like a good fit. Damour visited our facility for test drives, discussions, brainstorming etc. Together we decided that he should go to his home (Rwanda) and set up a new business, which is where COOT2-Africa is headquartered. We felt that International was a step that we needed to take due to the amount of uses it has in the different terrains of the world. Africa seemed only logical. We also believe that the COOT2 has an overall world wide use greater than the majority fo the Utility Vehicles on the market today.
2. What uses would they have for a COOT2 in Africa? Rwanda is the "Land of a Thousand Hills". If you are not going up, you are coming down. They grow their crops and live on the sides of these hills. The COOT2 would have its widest amount of use as a work vehicle on these types of hills. The COOT2 is strong enough to pull heavy loads, yet safe enough not to tip over with a load of people or cargo.
3. Would the African COOT2 be built differently then the US version? No. The only major change we see in building the COOT2 would be the addition of the African Pulling Hitch, which would mount in the rear or the front. It is our current understanding that the average buyer in Africa wants many different accessories because none are available in Rwanda.
4. Where would the African COOT2 be manufactured? Currently it will be built in the USA. We hope to open an assembly plant in Eastern Africa while still making all of the parts in the USA. Opening the plant would be a far more cost effective way of shipping and give the Rwandan people an opportunity to learn some much needed working skills.
5. How would parts and service be handled? Parts will be handled by exclusive dealers. Service will be accomplished with extensively trained and certified COOT2 service employees.
6.Will there be dealers in Africa? Yes. The plan is for there to be dealers initially in Rwanda, Congo, Uganda, Burundi and Kenya.
7. What is the terrain like in Africa? As you may be able to see in the pictures, the terrain is hilly and quite muddy.
8. How difficult is it to ship a COOT2 to Africa? It is extremely difficult to ship a unit to Africa, which is why our goal is to someday produce them there. Via Ocean Freight it takes 42 days from our shop to Mombassa, Kenya. From there, another two weeks to Kigali.
Our photo album of Kilgali, Africa and surrounding areas.
