GRATIS Foundation, Hyundai Motors to collaborate
From The GRATIS Foundation and Hyundai Motors and Investments Ghana Limited have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable the automobile dealership to provide professional vehicle maintenance services, using GRATIS Foundation’s centre in Koforidua in the Eastern Region.
Under the agreement, specialist technicians of Hyundai Motors will attend to the needs of their customers who cannot drive long distances to the company’s service centre in Accra for service.
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The Chief Executive Officer of the GRATIS Foundation, Mr Kofi Adjei Ntim, who signed the MoU on behalf of the organisation in Tema yesterday, indicated that the relationship between the two organisations had grown as a result of the mutual interests they both shared.
He explained that the partnership with Hyundai gave fulfilment to the government’s industrialisation programme, particularly the development of the automobile industry in Ghana.
Mr Ntim said as an institution that believed in technology transfer, training and manufacturing, the partnership with Hyundai Motors would build the capacity of the engineers and students in the area of automobile development in Ghana.
He indicated that the partnership would also result in the retooling of the GRATIS Foundation centre in Koforidua to provide the needed skills training and job opportunities for the youth.
Aim of GRATIS
Mr Ntim stated that the aim of the foundation was to support industrialisation.
He said technological development was the fulcrum around which the country’s economic development would revolve, emphasising that if the nation did not develop in technology, it should forget about development because that was the catalyst to propel the country to greater heights.
He mentioned the existence of a medium to long-term plan by the GRATIS Foundation to collaborate with partners such as Hyundai Motors to produce some vehicle parts for the servicing of vehicles in Ghana, and expressed the hope that the two institutions would commit themselves to attain that vision.
Innovation
The GRATIS Foundation was established in 1987 to manufacture and market appropriate technology-based products and services for micro, small and medium enterprises to facilitate socio-economic and industrial development in the country.
The foundation, Mr Ntim added, had come out with over 1,000 designs and stressed that with the injection of the needed capital , it was capable of going into commercial production of its innovations to propel the socio-economic and industrial development in Ghana.
Expansion
The General Manager of Hyundai Motors, Mr Ganesh Phadale, who signed the MoU on behalf of the automobile company, noted that the MoU would provide a perfect platform to enable the company to achieve its aim of meeting the demands of its clients and also provide solutions to the challenges they faced.
He said by starting its operations in Koforidua, the company had an opportunity to expand its business in that part of the country and satisfy the needs of its customers, including the availability of genuine spare parts and provision of quality service.
Mr Phadale said the partnership offered the company the opportunity to give practical and on the job training to the students of GRATIS Foundation.
He expressed the hope that the MoU would create the needed platform for both institutions to achieve their objectives.