The National Automotive Sector Development Project (NASDP) is a flagship Government of Kenya initiative designed to accelerate the growth of the country's automotive industry by strengthening local manufacturing, expanding technical skills, increasing investment, and making locally assembled vehicles more affordable and accessible.
Anchored in the National Automotive Policy (Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2022), the project supports Kenya's Vision 2030, the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), and regional industrial development by creating a vibrant automotive ecosystem that generates jobs, promotes innovation, and enhances industrial competitiveness.
The NASDP is financed through the NEXI-backed Samurai Loan Facility, a yen-denominated credit facility of JPY 25 billion (approximately KSh 20.0 billion at the indicative exchange rate of 1 JPY = KSh 0.80) established under the Facility Agreement dated 31 March 2026 between the Government of the Republic of Kenya and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and co-lenders, supported by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI).
The automotive tranche of the Samurai Loan Facility, amounting to JPY 15.0 billion (approximately KSh 13.1 billion), is allocated to State Department for Industry (SDI) for the implementation of the National Automotive Policy (NAP) and broader industrial development objectives. 

National Automotive Sector Development Project Objectives The project seeks to:

• Increase domestic production of automotive parts and locally assembled vehicles.
• Strengthen technical skills and workforce capacity.
• Improve the regulatory and policy environment.
• Support the transition of used-vehicle dealers into authorized new vehicle distributors.
• Increase consumer uptake of locally assembled vehicles.
• Promote local content, road safety, industrial innovation, and sustainable economic growth.

Project Components

Component 1: Local Assembly, Parts Manufacturing and Demand side enhancement

This component focuses on building a competitive supplier ecosystem by supporting MSMEs and large manufacturers to produce high-quality, competitively priced automotive components while stimulating sustainable demand for locally assembled vehicles and components. Key activities include supplier mapping, technical assistance and technology transfer, standards and certification support, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)-supplier matchmaking, access to machinery and tooling finance, and enhancing affordability for the locally assembled vehicles and parts.

Component 2: Automotive Standards, Testing, and Regulatory Framework

This component seeks to establish modern, integrated standards and testing ecosystem to support quality local assembly; and access to both regional and global market.Key activities include: enhancement of local technical capacity ; adoption and domestication of international standards; market surveillance; enhancement of testing capacity; consumer safety and environmental awareness programmes.

Component 3: Technical Training and Technology Transfer

This component addresses skills gaps and technological constraints through curriculum updates, training of 15,000 technicians (with emphasis on youth and women), apprenticeships with OEMs, instructor capacity building, collaboration with Japanese automotive training institutions, capacity enhancement of training institutions, and establishment of R&D laboratories focused on hybrid and clean technologies.

Component 4: Project Management, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting.

This component entails coordinating and tracking the implementation progress geared towards meeting the project's objectives and goal.

The Project is meant to address both the supply and demand challenges affecting Kenya's automotive industry.

For inquiries, Contact
Project Implementation Unit
National Automotive Sector Development Project
State Department for Industry
Social Security House, Block A, 23rd Floor
P.O. Box 30418-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Telephone: +254 20-2731531
Fax: +254 20-2731511
Email:  nasdp@industrialization.go.ke
     ps@industrialization.go.ke