West Africa specialist upbeat about future prospects

With new opportunities steadily on the rise, West Africa specialist Afrilog Groupage Services is upbeat about prospects for the year ahead. Offering a specialised consolidation service to several West African countries, Afrilog Groupage Services is finding volumes steadily picking up as more companies realise that the service from South Africa is safe, reliable, cost effective and often extremely flexible, says business development manager Simon Busang. He says consolidations on the route are particularly suited to customers whose budget constraints preclude airfreight as well as those clients who do not have enough cargo for a full container. “Being able to work in Africa means understanding Africa and, just as East Africa has specific needs and working conditions, the same applies to West Africa. Obviously the language barrier in West Africa, where most countries are French speaking, is a major challenge to trade, but understanding the culture and the way these countries work is essential to successful business.” And Busang and his team have gone out of their way to ensure they are able to offer their clients this. “As a region, West Africa is developing at an amazing rate and being an emerging market like South Africa, new opportunities are always opening up. We believe this is a market where consolidations will steadily grow in the coming years and continue to offer opportunities to specialist companies like ourselves.”