Djibouti woos Nigerian investors with new sea-air cargo service

Djibouti, a liberal economy in the heart of East Africa, is currently wooing interested Nigerian investors (importers and freight forwarders) to invest in one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, whose economic growth is characterised by stable political atmosphere, currency and low inflation rates.

A team of Djibouti delegation, who visited Nigeria, recently, said in Lagos that the country had perfected plans to launch a new sea-air cargo service for investors from Nigeria and other West African countries. When fully operational, it is projected that the service will reduce transit time from Europe and Asia to Nigeria by 50 percent.

The sea-air cargo service will involve shipping goods from major ports in Europe and Asia to Djibouti ports, from where such cargoes would be airlifted directly to various destinations on the continent, including Nigeria.

Speaking in Lagos on Monday at the Djibouti Business Forum organised by the Djibouti Consulate and Sifax Group, Aboubaker Omar Hadi, chairman, Djibouti Ports and Free Trade Zones Authority, said the challenge of long transit time to Africa was due to lack of adequate rail and air connections among African countries.

Aboubaker said Djibouti, which is located along the second busiest shipping route in the world that transits 60 percent of the world maritime traffic, was making efforts, alongside other countries, to build maritime, aviation and other logistics infrastructure across the continent. This, he said, will boost trade on the continent.

“We are developing the sea-air cargo business to serve land locked East and Central African countries as well as far away West African countries, which currently have to endure unreasonably long transit time for their imports coming from Asia.

“This has been impeding businesses for years and the development of sea-air cargo services, especially for high value goods, which will be a great solution,” he said.

According to him, the country has invested millions of dollars in infrastructural development in order to meet the demands of becoming a multi-modal regional hub for East Africa as well as being a key player in the seamless connection of Africa, especially through rail and air.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Taiwo Afolabi, the honorary consul of Djibouti in Nigeria, called on Nigerian investors to take advantage of the emerging economic opportunities in the country, saying that Djibouti was positioned to become the Dubai of Africa in the next few years.

Afolabi, who doubles as the group executive vice chairman, Sifax Group, assured interested Nigerians of the assistance of the consulate and Sifax Group in facilitating both business and investment needs in Djibouti.

The consul, in partnership with Sifax Group, announced plans to organise a trade mission to Djibouti in October 2015. “The trade mission will provide a platform for interested parties to explore and interact effectively with a view to making an informed decision on available opportunities and partnerships of mutual interest and benefits,” Afolabi said.

Markus Brinkmann, managing director, Sifax Group, said with subsidiaries like Ports and Cargo Handling Services Limited, a port operator and Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited, an aviation ground handling company, Sifax Group was well positioned to support Djibouti in delivering this ambitious project in Nigeria.