Senior Vice President for Ocean Freight EMEA Vice-President, DHL Global Forwarding (DGF), Dominique von Orelli, has stated that Nigeria with its large population size and its growing potential is a boost to every prospective investor.
Orelli who made this disclosure said the future of freight forwarding in Nigeria looks promising, especially for genuine operators. He noted that, the boom in the telecoms industry and the expected transformation in the power sector gave an indication that the nation’s freight forwarding business and indeed the economy would witness a flip.
The company’s vice-president noted that many established firms were increasingly focusing on their core business, leaving the logistics to those specially set up to handle it. He also said Nigeria’s large population offered a great attraction for investors to expand and transform their businesses.
He said, “There is plenty of growth in Africa, especially Nigeria. We want to be part of the growth. For us, Nigeria is on the top of our business chart. We are looking at the size of the country with its huge population. This is a place we love to be as a company and we are building our infrastructure here.”
He declared that, the focus on Nigeria is basically because of what the country has as well as what’s happening elsewhere. “We see big growth here. The boom in the telecoms industry and the steps being taken by the government to restore the power sector will drive the economy and make it very buoyant.”
And to demonstrate the confidence of the company in the African market, Orelli said DHL Global Forwarding is established in 22 countries on the continent, while its sister company, DHL, Express was already in 52 nations.
He stated that although the company and indeed freight forwarders were operating under a challenging environment with a lot of political and economic crises in many countries of the world, he was optimistic that there was a huge growth opportunity for credible companies with global footprints.
He said, “As freight forwarders, we have to move creatively to help the customers and ensure their businesses are not grounded. We also need to restore the supply chain as soon as possible. One of the major challenges we face is adapting to the changing situations such as the security arrangement and sometimes airlines’ restructuring.”
Orelli said the problem of port congestion in Nigeria was worrisome but noted that the issue of inadequate and obsolete infrastructure was being addressed through major equipment rehabilitation and modernisation.
“As a freight forwarder, it is our duty to get those items into the country as quickly as possible and get them cleared through the port,” he said.
On the implication of his recent appointment as the DHL Global Forwarding sponsor for Nigeria, saying, “A lot of the time, I have to come to see the customers in the country and bring the unity among the global customers; I will interact more with the customers and get Nigeria on the global map.”
