Africa Rising: gearing up to power global businesses

The changing contours of the world economy have always been shaped by the ebb and flow of regional powers. When one looks at the data of different regions, it is evident that Africa holds tremendous potential to drive growth across the world. And robust logistics services will play a key role in enabling this boom. Thankfully, for businesses looking to leverage the Africa edge, the world leader in Less than Container Load (LCL) consolidation, ECU Worldwide, offers end-to-end multi-modal solutions to and from the continent.

Resource rich and with a bourgeoning population that is increasingly demanding better services, Africa has been seeing significant changes over the past few years. It is the world’s fastest-growing continent with a growth rate of 5.6% a year and the GDP is expected to rise by an average of over 6% a year between 2013 and 2023.

The world’s growth engine

Growth has been consistent throughout the continent, with over one-third of African countries posting 6% or higher growth rates, and another 40% growing at a rate of 4% to 6% per year. Consequently, several international business observers have named Africa as the future economic growth engine of the world.

Mining, agriculture, energy are some of the important sectors. In addition, there is tremendous emphasis on building new infrastructure to enable development across various countries. This aligns with a multitude of other industry verticals which serve these industries and country requirements for growth and development.

ECU Worldwide – the gateway to Africa

As is well known, business cannot prosper without logistics. Ever committed to powering success stories, ECU Worldwide offers businesses the opportunity to leverage the Africa boom.

Firstly, businesses gain from access to a worldwide network operating in 180 countries, and end-to-end multimodal solutions of ocean freight, international air freight along with over border and feeder services into East and West Africa including Mauritius. Full cross trade service is available from any of ECU Worldwide’s more than 2,400 direct trade lanes to any destination in Africa. Over border containerized unpacks, warehousing and transport services give customers an added advantage.

Delivering excellence, across Africa’s major hubs

Customers benefit from the end-to-end services and seamless cargo movements through ECU Worldwide’s owned and operated offices in all major hubs across the African continent. In fact, ECU Worldwide Africa has offices in 7 out of the 10 countries ranked in the list of ‘Top 10 Most Attractive Investment Destinations in Africa’ published by the Rand Merchant Bank.

Further bolstered by a reliable and experienced network of agents, ECU Worldwide Africa has the capability to service all African countries on a hub and spoke basis and leverage its expertise and reach to ensure better control and reach over shipments until the final destination, for diverse logistics verticals that include LCL, Full Container Load (FCL), air freight and project logistics. Currently, Ghana in West Africa, South Africa in Southern Africa, and Kenya & Tanzania in East Africa, are the hubs for multiple African destinations that can be serviced by the ECU Worldwide network.

Excellent project logistics services, even into challenging and inaccessible locations by moving Over-Dimensional Cargo (ODC) with utmost safety are another hallmark of ECU Worldwide’s services in Africa that are contributing to the region’s development and progress.

Giving businesses the cutting-edge of tech

The icing on the cake is that ECU Worldwide Africa also offers its state-of-the-art technology platform, ECU360, to make cargo movement simple, efficient and very convenient. Through the digital logistics portal, customers can conduct business 24×7 with instant quotes for LCL, quick online bookings, door-to-door deliveries in over 50 global markets, as well as business analytics and insights that ensure informed decision-making.

“In Africa, what makes us stand out really is that we have got a whole suite of end-to-end services, powered by a global network and technology-driven solutions. The fact that we have our own offices, and an experienced team to handle over border requirements helps simplify the complexities of global cargo movements. We give African businesses the power to expand their horizons and bring Africa closer to businesses the world over,” says
Ian Mc Allister, Regional Head for Southern & Eastern Africa and Mauritius, ECU Worldwide.

In addition to these, the door-to-door project/special cargo movements, expertise to handle all product types, vessel chartering, road movements, customs clearance, loading/offloading, transport, warehousing, bond, craneage, among others, make ECU Worldwide Africa a partner of choice for customers looking forward to grow their business in the continent.

Conclusion

With a slew of services driven by customer centricity, technology and a global approach, ECU Worldwide Africa could certainly be the differentiating factor heralding success for businesses in the second largest continent in the world.