East Africa on the brink of a new era of growth

The East African economy is on the brink of a new era of opportunity, growth and development – and Beyond Africa Logistics Consultants has been tapping into this market for the past year. This after the opening of an office in Kenya in January. According to Michelle du Toit, director of operations, there is growing investor confidence in the better performing economy, with Kenya Investment Authority data showing new investments of $68m in the second quarter of 2013 compared with $58.8m in the first quarter. “We turn logistical challenges into competitive advantages,” says Du Toit. “Our target industries are the very ones that are driving the expected growth of Africa in the 21st century – food and beverage; mining; drilling and exploring; power and water; engineering and construction; agriculture; pharmaceuticals and telecommunications.” Having serviced Kenya and now Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, DRC and the South Sudan by road, the company has built up the expertise and the ability to offer the complete logistics solution from air or sea destinations across Africa, she said. According to Du Toit, while the focus has been on East Africa – the African Development Bank is predicting growth for the Kenyan economy alone of 6% this year – southern Africa is just as important a region for the company. “Our head office is in South Africa, which allows us to monitor our business across the country and into all the SADC states. We are growing quite rapidly in West and Central Africa as well,” she says. And Du Toit is upbeat about the region. “The World Bank recently raised its economic outlook for sub-Saharan Africa for the next 12 months, predicting that the region will grow by more than 5% because of strong domestic demand and higher production of commodities. This adds to the International Monetary Fund’s prediction that growth rates for emerging economies will be higher than in advanced economies,” she says. INSERT & CAPTION The African Development Bank is predicting growth for the Kenyan economy alone of 6% this year. – Michelle du Toit INSERT 5% World Bank’s predicted growth for the region.