SDV secures major contract with Chinese company

While it has not emerged
totally unscathed, Botswana
managed to escape the worst
of the global economic meltdown,
says Gareth Lendrum, SDV general
manager: Botswana.
“We have slowly been ticking away
with no huge decline in cargo in recent
months, and while some industries
were affected, we were definitely not
as badly affected as other regions.”
And they can prove it too as SDV
Botswana is expected to close better
this year than 2008.
“We have had to work hard to
achieve this because even though we
did not see a big dent in our volumes,
clients definitely used the recessionary
times to shop around.”
According to Lendrum,
opportunities for freight forwarders
servicing Botswana are plentiful at
present, especially when it comes to
the construction industry. With the
influx of Chinese companies setting
up shop in the landlocked country,
there is much potential as the Chinese
market continues to offer the biggest
opportunity for growth.
“The only problem we face is that
the Chinese are entirely based on
costing and very few can compete
with their pricings. And if you are out
with your price, you are out.”
But, says Lendrum, whose
company has secured a contract
with the Chinese company Huawei
Technologies, which will be
upgrading the entire Botswana
telecommunications network, logistics
companies have much opportunity
to benefit. “The Chinese import
everything and that means business for
freight forwarders.”
Another challenge, he says, is
the language barrier. “We have
overcome this by employing a Chinese
representative. Having someone who
can speak the language has helped a
great deal.”