Ford’s Benevolence in Africa Supports Business Plan

Job training for workers in South Africa is just part of the latest investment by the Ford Motor Co. Fund to expand the Dearborn automaker’s reach into what the company sees as a key developing market.

Ford’s philanthropic arm is investing $4 million “across the African continent to support the company’s growth and commitment to making people’s lives better,” states a company news release.

Part of the 5-year grant will be used to create and fund the Ford Resource and Engagement Center, a job-training and entrepreneurial development facility near the company’s Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria, South Africa. In April, Ford announced a $170 million investment in the Silverton plant to build the Everest 7-seat, body-on-frame SUV and to expand Ranger pickup production.

Ford says the center, the second for the company and its first international version, is modeled after a successful outreach facility in southwest Detroit that has assisted more than 80,000 residents with a range of services from food assistance to completing tax returns.

“Ford Fund has a proud tradition of strengthening the communities that are home to our employees, dealers, suppliers and customers,” says Jim Vella, president-Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. “As our company expands throughout the African continent, we are bringing our innovative community investment programs to new regions to create a better world.”

The Ford Fund also is investing in a diverse range of programs including converting shipping containers into homes in a village near the Silverton plant, funding student-led community projects in Ghana, Kenya, Morocco and South Africa, training mechanics to repair medical vehicles in Nigeria, donating Ranger pickups for use in wildlife conservation and environmental projects and encouraging entrepreneurship in Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

Ford believes its investments in Africa and the Middle East will pay off with profitable growth in a region where new-vehicle sales are projected to grow 40% by 2020 to 5.5 million annually, with nearly half of that increase coming in Africa. To meet that anticipated demand, the company plans to launch at least 30 new vehicles in the region by 2020, covering the car, truck and utility segments.

South Africa’s light-vehicle market alone is on a tear, up 25% from 2011 to 2015 despite a 4% decline from 2014 to 2015, WardsAuto data shows. Ford ranks third behind Toyota and Volkswagen in the country, commanding a 13.4% share of the 587,214-unit light-vehicle market.

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