An indigenous automotive firm and a state technical university have partnered to train Ghanaian mechanics for electric vehicles, as charging infrastructure expands faster than the workforce equipped to maintain it.
Kuri Motors and Accra Technical University (ATU) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Accra, committing to place mechanical engineering students in active workshops where they will work on engine refurbishing, advanced vehicle diagnostics, and electric vehicle (EV) technology.
ATU Vice-Chancellor Professor Amevi Acakpovi put the urgency plainly, warning that existing technicians face being overtaken by a technology shift they were never trained for. “Charging stations are being built here, maintenance requirements are coming,” he said, arguing that Ghana must either retrain its current workforce or develop a new generation of EV capable technicians.
Kuri Motors founder Junaid Limann said the goal is to move Ghana from consuming automotive technology to building and repairing its own vehicles. He described the agreement as a response to a persistent gap between what engineering students learn in lecture rooms and what the modern workshop actually demands.
The partnership will give ATU students access to the TrueShop digital platform, built by TrueHide Technologies, which Limann says will allow them to work with tools used to track engine diagnostics, manage genuine parts replacement, and coordinate towing services. The intention is to embed digital workflow into practical training rather than treating the two as separate skills.
Limann said Kuri Motors would also commit resources to EV servicing and technical training, given the pace at which global automotive markets are moving away from combustion engines.
Acakpovi called for the model to go further, asking for joint research, curriculum reform to include electric mobility content, and the design of technical certification programmes. He disclosed that ATU previously used a Skills Development Fund grant to extend modern diagnostic training to auto technicians across several centres, and argued the approach deserved a national rollout.
The Vice-Chancellor linked the partnership to Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 9, covering decent work and industrial innovation, and to the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063 programme for building a technologically advanced continent.
