Volumes into Africa have been
showing steady growth,
especially in light of improving road
infrastructure.
According to Jan Louw Malherbe,
operations manager West Africa for
Africross Logistical Solutions, there
is a real commitment to improving
infrastructure and new roads are
being built. “This has an extremely
positive knock-on effect with regards
to vehicle longevity and also delivery
time,” he said. “For the most part
there is a lot going on in Africa
and in many towns one can see the
development taking place.”
For Malherbe the outlook in Africa
is one of extreme positivity. “Trade
barriers are easing up and he expects
this trend to continue. The obvious
excitement comes from the fact that
there is so much room for growth.
We are learning lessons on a daily
basis and this allows us as a business
to continuously grow and become
more efficient.”
He says already volumes have been
increasing and the company has seen
steady growth throughout the year.
“Our areas of expertise are in
Angola and Namibia, while we
also work in several other markets
including Mozambique, Zimbabwe
and Zambia.”
Malherbe says while there are
many opportunities currently
for business in Africa, challenges
remain.
“Timing for projects is a major
issue as one has to plan very carefully
and it is sometimes difficult,” he
explains. “With Africa already such
a high growth market, with so many
variables it is important to be able to
control the variable factors that form
part of the logistical process. We
have systems in place to maximise
the control we have over cargo –
however there will always remain a
degree of uncertainty.”
At the same time the monetary
payment systems between countries
due to monetary constraints can also
be problematic.
“But there are always ways of
overcoming the challenges that
Africa represents,” says Malherbe.
CAPTION
Moving forward ... there is a real commitment to improving infrastructure.
