CHC expands capacity to cater for volumes

With large multinational
companies expanding into
southern Africa, South Africa
remains the stepping stone into
Africa.
“We, like many others, feel that
the next growth will happen on
the African continent,” says the
company’s CEO, Reshaan Laljith.
“Already one can see companies
like Walmart expanding into
South Africa and that way getting
a foothold on the continent,” he
told FTW. “Africa as a continent
is larger than the USA, Europe
and India combined. It is the
last frontier – a market far from
maturity compared to the USA
and other foreign markets. With
the population close to one billion,
it makes sense that this is where
the growth is.”
Experts agree that while some
90% of Africans live below
the poverty line, it is a major
consumer market. With its vast
mineral resources, the potential
of the continent is being seen by
more and more Western countries
– something the Chinese identified
years ago.
“The Chinese and Indians
have known for a long time the
potential within Africa. They
therefore secured mining rights
and are building infrastructure –
roads, ports and airports. All of
this is impacting positively on the
continent’s growth,” says Laljith.
“But one of the major concerns
that we must address is still
corruption.”
According to Laljith, South
Africa is in a prime position to
benefit from the interest in Africa.
“We are close and have easy
access to sub-Saharan Africa and
can transport into these countries,
being part of the same customs
union. There is a large untapped
market for various products
– from detergents to washing
machines – and we offer Africa
more efficient supply chains.”
Laljith says due to increased
growth in third party warehousing
and logistics his company has had
to increase capacity nation-wide.