Stella Scheibenzuber joins CargoForwarder Global as a guest author this week, with her review of the German African Business Summit 2024. The German African Business Summit (GABS) took place from 02-04DEC24, and brought around 800 business, political, association and academic representatives from 36 countries together in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. The event was opened by Kenyan President, William Ruto, and German Vice Chancellor, Robert Habeck. The summit focused on key topics such as economic cooperation, sustainability, financing and the importance of logistics as an indispensable basis for Africa’s industrial development.
Economic development in Africa is progressing with increasing speed and added value. Intra-African trade is set to double in the next 4 years to 30% of the nationally produced aggregate output, while imports and exports are set to double at the same time.
Logistics at the center of discussions
A particular focus during the summit days was the issue of supply chains. According to the CEO of Volkswagen Mobility Solutions Africa, Serge Kamuhinda, logistics account for almost 40% of the company’s total costs in Rwanda, which underlines the problematic nature of this sector. A special panel on logistics entitled ‘Sustainable Logistics – Key Success Factor for Business Development and Trade Participation’, brought together leading German and African companies such as Kuehne+Nagel, DB Schenker, Bosch, Volkswagen, Lufthansa Cargo, Freight Forwarders Kenya and Frankfurt Hahn Airport, who shared their experiences with the conference participants. The panel was organized by Professor Dr. Frank Straube (Technical University of Berlin, Department of Logistics, member of the GABS program committee), and Felix Zimmermann (Medienbüro am Reichstag). Professor Straube presented key findings from his study on ‘The future of Logistics with sub-Saharan Africa’ and moderated this logistics side event together with Professor XN Iraki (University of Nairobi, Department of Logistics). Professor Iraki emphasized that terms such as CO₂ emissions and sustainability hardly played a role in African logistics before 2020. This has now fundamentally changed and environmental protection is increasingly shaping the industry in Kenya. The manager of the Kuehne Foundation’s Climate Center in Nairobi and the company Kubick, which transforms plastic waste into sustainable building materials, spoke on the panel about decarbonizing logistics networks.
Infrastructure projects as a beacon of hope
The African Union has initiated several major infrastructure projects: e.g. corridors from Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, which are to cross the continent. However, cooperation between the countries involved is still in its infancy. Professor Straube sees an urgent need for action here:
“Logistics in Africa must be organized through cross-industry cooperation. The African automotive industry, through its initiative of the Association of African Automotive Manufacturers, is an example of how cooperation across the entire continent can efficiently overcome challenges, provided that the logistics networks for this function sustainably and robustly.”
In addition to the automotive industry, the pharmaceutical and food industries are also developing positively, particularly due to growing demand and improved supply chains. At the same time, climatic challenges and crop failures are key problems that can affect supply, but also require careful logistical planning for emergencies. Supply chains for critical raw materials are further growth drivers and require innovative, secure logistics and air freight transportation capacity.
The need for long-term, well-organized humanitarian logistics was also emphasized at the conference. The aim is to strengthen resilience to crises such as natural disasters, droughts and political unrest.
Challenges in air freight transport
Another key topic was air freight, which plays a crucial role in the export of perishable goods such as flowers and fruit to Europe. Due to the ongoing attacks by the Houthi rebels on the Suez Canal / Red Sea, it has become almost impassable, which makes air freight even more important. However, the low freight rates and the lack of sufficient return shipments from Europe to Africa stand in the way of profitability. These problems have led Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways, among others, to withdraw capacity from the Kenyan market and shift it to more lucrative routes, particularly to China.
Future prospects and cooperation
However, the conference was not only about current challenges, but above all about global perspectives and cooperation between Europe and Africa, with a particular focus on the role of Germany. During the event, Professor Straube announced the further development of initiatives for logistics that bring together business, politics and universities. The aim is to draw up a roadmap for sustainable and resource-saving logistics development in Africa, and to involve the high-quality African start-up scene in the process. “We need to work together on new solutions and utilize the existing potential by closely networking our expertise,” concludes Straube.
Stella Scheibenzuber
