DHL, the leading international logistics operator, has identified Botswana as a strategic business hub as the express company seeks to expand its footprint in Africa.
The move is an aggressive expansion into the market, which is aimed to further cement the company’s leading position in Africa but also to offer local consumers and small businesses an efficient, convenient way of shipping overseas.
Addressing the media, Charles Brewer, the managing director for DHL express Sub Saharan Africa, said Botswana is an attractive market for them as its stable economic growth rate makes it a viable country for investment.
“As we see the continent surge as a result of sector investment, increased consumer spending and economic activity, the future is still bright for the African continent,” he said.
Brewer noted the need for increased convenience for small to medium enterprises (SMEs), as a recent study by global information and analytics company, IHS, showed that accessibility to international markets was a driver of small business success.
The SME sector is growing at an amazing pace and this investment will help to connect Botswana SME’s to the rest of the world.
“There are hundreds of SMME’s in Botswana and we need to provide easy access and a team of highly trained certified international specialists to lead them to the very obvious opportunities that trading with the world can present,” he said.
Through the expansion strategy, DHL wants to ensure that people within Africa can access global markets, and transfer skills, goods and information.
“In our recent 2012 Global Connectedness Index, which measures the state of globalization around the world, Sub-Saharan Africa remained the globe’s least connected continent,” said Brewer.
Despite the current global economic uncertainty, DHL expects the African region to deliver. Brewer revealed that plans are underway to increase the service points from the current seven in the country.
