DHL sharpens focus on Africa
DHL has announced that its Global Forwarding division will be investing further in the African region to bolster its established position in Sub-Saharan Africa. The company also confirmed that Sub-Saharan Africa has been integrated into one region with South Asia Pacific under leadership of Amadou Diallo, with the head office in Singapore. Diallo is a member of the DHL Global Forwarding Freight Executive Board and was born in Senegal.
DHL intends to leverage the expertise built in Singapore in sectors such as Oil and Energy, Life Science, Automotive, Technology and Aid and Relief logistics to strengthen its operations in Africa. Having opened dedicated operations in all important African economies over the last few years, DHL Global Forwarding has committed to further invest and grow its human resources, finance and sales and marketing teams to support further growth in the region.
Hermann Ude, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding, said, “DHL Global Forwarding’s plans in Africa underpin the potential we see in the continent. The triangle of trade between Africa, the Middle East and Asia will shape the future of global trade and our investments in people and processes will ensure businesses have access to world-class logistics operations across Africa”.
Mineral and resource rich Africa has witnessed swift economic growth as trade with the Asia Pacific region and around the world continues to grow.
Amadou Diallo, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding, Africa and South Asia Pacific, said, “The economic emergence of Sub-Saharan Africa presents significant opportunities, especially in the energy and mining industries. Eleven African nations now count as the top 10 sources of mineral exports while the African continent will account for 13% of global oil production by 2015. With a strong, established presence in all key sourcing territories, DHL Global Forwarding is well-positioned to support the rapid expansion of international and local businesses in this emerging geography.”
According to The African Economic Outlook report for Q1 2010, Africa’s commodity export sector will drive its growth in the near term. To this end, governments in Africa are investing in infrastructure to meet the continent’s long term development needs. DHL Global Forwarding’s Industrial Projects team – which provides project logistics execution services to the energy, mining and infrastructure sectors – already partners some of the continent’s biggest turnkey developers.
