Express major spells out ambitious Africa growth plans

Express major SkyNet Worldwide Express is planning to ramp up its presence in Africa as part of its focus on high-growth emerging economies. The company has 35 hubs and delivers daily to over 450 towns within southern Africa. The decision to grow its African footprint follows better-than-expected local growth, says the company’s general manager Eugene Swanepoel. “Our growth has not been on the back of existing clients but new market share. We implemented a very focused growth strategy in which we clearly identified the market segments we wanted to target and the service types we wanted to grow,” he told FTW. “Part of that overall strategy is our African expansion programme which will see us expanding into one African country a year to further enhance our already established agents’ network.” With offices in Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia, the company will open its Tanzania branch by June this year. Zambia is next on the list with an office due to open by no later than mid-2014. The approach is not fast and furious, he said, but rather a well-structured and researched venture that will establish the company as a serious player in the African express parcel and courier segment. “One cannot head into Africa on the back of rumours. It is important to do one’s homework well and to be prepared. There is always a tendency to underestimate the complexity of Africa – no matter how prepared one is. It is therefore our intention to grow our African footprint slowly, but properly – one country at a time.” Swanepoel said an African-focused strategy made sense in light of the growth being experienced on the continent. “There are a lot of things happening on the ground – from new mines to oil and gas explorations and projects in a variety of sectors. Along with all of that comes the other development, all of which bodes well for the courier and express business.” He said in light of ongoing economic instability, now more than ever it was important for companies to develop diversified market segments. Swanepoel said while they were very focused on Africa, their South African business was also getting attention with new technology having been developed to protect high-value goods. “We are in the process of implementing this new technology which has an early detection dashboard in place. Along with the track and trace and the camera technology that we already use, this will add an extra level of security, allowing us to monitor our parcels much more closely.” CAPTION Eugene Swanepoel ... new technology developed to protect high-value goods.