From Jua Kali to Alabama: Kenyan Mechanic Builds Thriving Auto Business in the US

Kenyan mechanic Evanson Kaggia has built a successful automotive repair business in Alabama, United States, demonstrating how technical skills acquired through vocational training can create opportunities beyond Kenya's borders.

Graduation ceremonies at Kenya's village polytechnics, which are now formally recognised as part of the country's Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system, often receive little public attention. Unlike university graduation events that attract senior government officials and extensive media coverage, these ceremonies are usually modest affairs. 

Many families have traditionally viewed polytechnic qualifications as less valuable than university degrees. This perception reflects a long-standing social bias. 

The Jua Kali sector, which includes Kenya's informal artisans and tradespeople, has often been regarded as an option for those who did not secure university admission. The term "Jua Kali", meaning "fierce sun" in Swahili, is commonly associated with outdoor manual work, despite the sector's significant contribution to technical innovation and skills development. 

Kaggia's career provides an example of how vocational training can lead to international success. Successive Kenyan governments have promoted polytechnics and the Jua Kali sector, although public attitudes have changed more slowly. During the 1980s and 1990s, President Daniel arap Moi encouraged self-reliance by visiting open-air workshops and supporting the construction of sheds for artisans.

His successor, Mwai Kibaki, sought to strengthen technical education through Vision 2030 by upgrading several polytechnics into universities. While intended to expand educational opportunities, the move also reinforced the perception that university degrees carried greater prestige than technical qualifications.

President Uhuru Kenyatta later highlighted the importance of technical skills under his Big Four Agenda, arguing that Kenya's focus on university education was contributing to graduate unemployment. President William Ruto has continued this emphasis through his Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, placing TVET institutions and the Jua Kali sector at the centre of economic development plans. He has argued that Kenyan artisans possess globally competitive skills that deserve greater support and access to international markets.

Kaggia's career reflects the potential of technical training. After gaining experience in workshops and garages in Kenya, he developed expertise in vehicle diagnostics and mechanical repair within Nairobi's competitive automotive industry.When he moved to the United States, he brought those skills with him. In Birmingham, Alabama, he and his wife, Nancy, established N & K Auto Repair Shop LLC. The business has operated successfully for more than a decade.

The company specialises in foreign vehicles and serves a diverse customer base that includes local motorists and members of the Kenyan diaspora. Kaggia has built his reputation through technical expertise, customer trust and the ability to adapt to modern automotive technologies, including hybrid systems.