‘Plenty of potential – but be aware of the challenges'

South African companies need to establish themselves in Africa now before it is too late and they can no longer penetrate the market, says Moses Maboi, managing director of Katlego Global Logistics. “There are many opportunities in Africa with vast areas still untouched. Potential is everywhere but players in the logistics industry have to develop the ability to think outside of their comfort zone when assessing what services can be offered or what avenues to explore,” he told FTW. “Africa can no longer be ignored, but companies are going to have to move and establish themselves now before the market is too difficult to penetrate.” According to Maboi, business into Africa has been growing year-on-year by at least 20% since 2006. “We expect this to double in the coming year due to increased business via our Asian partnership.” But, warned Maboi, it was important the industry realised there were still challenges when dealing with Africa. “Among them, without doubt, is the underdevelopment of technology, specifically ICT. The ICT landscape in Africa is largely varied and presents challenges related to service delivery. This has a direct impact on the smooth functioning of border posts for example,” he said. “Another challenge is port development and general road infrastructure. Governments and corporates need to work together to ensure the further development of the infrastructure to facilitate further economic development.” Maboi says he believes the outlook for Africa remains positive. “The global recession revealed the vulnerabilities of the larger more dominant markets. This presented an opportunity for a focus shift to the economies of the African continent. People were forced to question why it was the informal trading sector on the continent that continued to thrive despite the global recession.” He said what came out of that was the need to continue encouraging an increase in exports in an effort to get the balances right. Working hard toward establishing a presence in East Africa, particularly Kenya and Tanzania, Maboi’s advice to anyone heading into Africa is simple. “Tread carefully, choose partners with great care, don’t rush and try to deal with reputable and trusted individuals,” he said. “Be aware of local rules to set up business and do not agree to unfavourable terms of doing business. Invest wisely. Africa has lots of potential partners who are willing to engage with organisations wishing to get involved in the development of their economies and job creation.” CAPTION Moses Maboi … ‘choose partners with great care.’