Damco, a global leader in freight forwarding and supply chain solutions, is increasing its focus on the growing India-Africa trade lane. Damco has created a dedicated India-Africa trade lane team to offer innovative solutions for its customers who are moving cargo between these two markets.
Lars Sorensen, CEO of Damco in South Asia comments “Africa and India represent two of the largest and fastest growing markets in the world and the bilateral trade between these two markets is expected to touch USD 70 billion within the next five years. We at Damco are investing and participating in this dynamic trade lane and our new team will help us to offer our customers a tailor-made solution to reach the key African markets. This initiative will help us to bridge the knowledge gap about Africa and will enable our customers to create a competitive and reliable African supply chain with an improved speed to market for their products”
Damco has a network of 50 own offices across 30 countries in Africa and 17 own offices in India. Combined, Damco has over 1,000 experienced employees in these two markets. The new India-Africa trade lane team in Damco will focus on offering its customers customised solutions through this large network of offices. The India-Africa trade lane is led by experienced Africa specialists based in India with representation in key African offices. The team will manage oceanfreight (dry and refrigerated), airfreight, cargo insurance, CFS warehousing, trucking, customs clearance and supply chain management.
Apart from the wide network of offices and experienced professionals, Damco offers the unique advantage of door to door shipments to Africa using its Through Bill of Lading (TBLs). Nearly 30% of Africa is landlocked and an effective multimodal solution is critical to transport cargo between India and inland locations in Africa. Damco TBL’s provides a one stop solution for moving cargo from the seller’s doorstep to the buyer’s doorstep all under a single Damco bill of lading.
Mr. Nils Havsager, CEO of Damco Africa, says: "Trade between India and Africa has nearly doubled in the last decade, and we are seeing more and more Indian companies investing in the growing African markets every day. Amid the infrastructure, security, and bureaucracy challenges our customers face in Africa, Damco delivers fast and reliable solutions together with great customer service. I am very proud of our extensive network of expert Damco colleagues, and especially proud of the unique value we bring to our Indian customers' businesses every day."
India exports pharmaceuticals, automotive, chemicals and steel among other commodities to Africa. Also many Indian infrastructure companies are engaged in executing large scale turnkey projects in Africa. India on the other hand sources commodities like timber, coffee and cashew from the African markets. Damco currently manages customers across various industry segments on the India-Africa trade lane and expects to strengthen its market position through the formation of the new trade lane team.
About Damco
Damco offers a broad range of supply chain management and freight forwarding services to customers all over the world, and has 10,500 employees in over 280 owned offices across 90 countries with representation in 120 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, Europe, Middle East, and Latin America. In 2009, the company had a net turnover of over USD 2.0 billion, managed more than 2.3 million TEU of ocean freight and supply chain management volumes and air freighted more than 60,000 tons. Damco is an independent business activity within the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group. For more information, please visit www.damco.com.
