As part of a strategy to extend its southern African footprint, Bester Clearing & Forwarding is in the process of setting up offices in Zimbabwe. According to general manager Jonathan McDonald, the offices in Harare, at Beitbridge and on the Zimbabwe side of the Chirundu border post, will be operational before the end of the year. “The addition of Zimbabwe will enable us to give our customers a true end-to-end solution,” says McDonald. “This will enable us to better mitigate our customers’ risks and ensure a smooth transit through the various borders. We believe that there will be significant growth for us in Zambia and this will further strengthen our service offering within the region. This placement also puts us in a great position to capitalie on any potential growth in Zimbabwe as well as serving as a gateway to Malawi and Mozambique.” While South Africa may have long been seen as the gateway to southern Africa, ongoing regional developments are changing the status quo making it imperative for companies to have strong regional footprints. “Ports such as Walvis Bay have already taken the initiative to build a new world-class container terminal and there is a big drive from them to promote trade from Namibia into the Copperbelt, Botswana and even Zimbabwe,” says McDonald. He is optimistic about the outlook for Africa despite the challenges that exist. McDonald said the company had appointed Allison Pinheiro as its regional business development manager. “She will be heading up all our business development across Zambia, Zimbabwe and surrounding countries and corridors,” he said
INSERT: The addition of Zimbabwe will enable us to give our customers a true endto-end solution. – Jonathan McDonald