The inspiring story of Jerry Mallo, a Nigerian who built the First Locally Made Nigerian Luxury Super Car

Jerry Mallo was born in 1994 to Nigerian parents in Plateau State, Nigeria. He is the CEO of Bennie Technologies, Ltd. He built the country’s first locally manufactured carbon fibre sports car, the Bennie Purrie. According to Jerry Mallo, he was inspired to create the Bennie Purrie because Nigeria and Africa as a whole have a large market for luxury vehicles.

How it all started with Jerry Mallo

Jerry Mallo is an engineer who evolved from the agriculture industry and started building supercars. Despite not attending higher education, he became a fabrication engineer, known for crafting a fuelless generator and prototype car. His ambition is to become the Bill Gates of Africa, either through innovation or legitimate wealth acquisition. Coming from a modest background, Mallo’s fame attracted the attention of Prof. Bogoro, who sponsored his university education at the University of Hertfordshire, London, after seeing his potential. Although he didn’t graduate from this institution due to undisclosed reasons, Mallo remained determined to achieve his envisioned success.

After exploring various opportunities, he ventured into agriculture. He founded the Bennie Agro-Agricultural Company at the age of 22 and started making machines. The company specialized in machine design, fabrication, and manufacturing, focusing on mechanizing and automating local agricultural processes. Leveraging his innovation skills, Mallo has developed several farm machinery, including tractors, grinding machines, and cassava peelers, tailored to customers’ needs using locally fabricated tools. His achievements include winning the Nation Micro Small Medium Enterprise Award in 2018, among other commendable traits.

The results of this were so impressive that he decided to conquer a new peak by building the world’s first Nigerian supercar. In 2019, he made his first car, called the Bennie Purrie. This car was made of carbon fibre, and it was equipped with a 2-litre, 130-horsepower engine that allowed the car to accelerate to 75 miles per hour in 4 seconds. In a video interview, he explained that he chose carbon fibre for its safety, high quality, and shock-absorbing properties, aiming to reduce harm to occupants in accidents. Despite facing challenges in finding a sponsor, Mallo was proud to accomplish this significant feat. He credited the success not only to his own idea but also to the contributions of the talented individuals he enlisted. The sports car was unveiled at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja. 

Unfortunately, the car had a lot of problems, and Jerry used the next five years to work on it. The second model of the brand, the Bennie sternum, turned out to be more impressive. It looked like a Corvette C8 or an Aspark owl. The Bennie Sternum received a suspension system that raises the ground clearance by about 12 inches. In addition, it has an umbrella compartment like in a Rolls-Royce. Most interestingly, the car is powered by a 4.2-litre V8 engine and produces 414 horsepower. Mallo is committed to enhancing the initial model with adequate funding, aiming to produce standardized vehicles for mass consumption.

Also, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Jerry Mallo developed Nigeria’s first prototype ventilators. It was initially funded by the Nigerian government to aid in the recovery of those infected, but after some time, the project was later stopped in favour of importing ICU ventilators instead.

Jerry Mallo is an inspiring Nigerian, and if he has the backing of the government, there is no doubt he’d make even more incredible innovations.