A forum by the Nairobi – based Africa Logistics Properties (ALP), discusses logistics challenges in East Africa mainly supply chain.
Ethiopia was ranked position 131 globally, and on the African continent after Sudan, which was ranked position 130, according to the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Survey of 2018.
The Index placed South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda and Ivory Coast as the top 4 best-performing countries in Africa, while Somalia, Sierra Leone, Eritrea, and Zimbabwe took the bottom four positions.
With respect to this, Africa Logistics Properties held its first Supply Chain Networking breakfast forum. As a way of creating dialogue to solve some of the key challenges many businesses experience within the Supply Chain ecosystem as well as align key international best practices that are relevant and can be applicable to the East African Region.
Stakeholders raised concern that one of the key hurdles stifling the logistics industry and its modernisation in East Africa as a whole is the lack of proper systems to address issues affecting players.
The networking event brought together key stakeholders in the Logistics and Supply Chain sector with the aim of generating industry solutions.
Speaking at the event, Africa Logistics Properties CEO Richard Hough said, “Since setting up operations in Kenya, we as an organisation have noticed various challenges in the East Africa’s Supply Chain ecosystem. We are delighted to have our first supply chain breakfast event as a
way of creating dialogue to solve some of the key challenges many business’s experience within the Supply Chain ecosystem as well as align key international best practices that are relevant and can be applicable to the East African Region.”
He further added, “With ALP logistics centres we are able to provide a key part of the solution and improve distribution in East Africa by streamlining the supply chain and logistics processes. Through eliminating shipping and transportation challenges, establishing better ways of storing goods and the effective use of technology.”
Africa Logistics Properties’s flagship project ‘ALP Nairobi North’ is Kenya’s first international standard grade-A logistics and distribution centre. The project consists of 47,000sqm of grade-A international standard warehousing on a 22-acre site. The first two phases of the ALP North park are over 82% leased and the third final phase of 19,600sqm was delivered in May 2019.
ALP Nairobi North won the Best Industrial Project in Africa award at the 2018 Africa Property Awards and also achieved the World Bank’s EDGE building sustainability certification – the very first industrial warehousing complex to achieve this benchmark in Africa.
In addition to ALP Nairobi North, ALP has also commenced construction of its second logistics and industrial project called ALP Nairobi West on a 49-acre site in Western Nairobi. ALP West is situated on the A104 highway towards Limuru, with planning approval for a 100,000 sqm logistics and distribution warehousing complex, the largest in East Africa.
This second project aims to attract smaller more modern warehouse units, similar units at ALP North and specialized built to suit options for business’s seeking to move away from traditional land ownership to focusing on their core businesses.
ALP’s strategy is to identify demand-led investment opportunities within Africa that will generate strong returns for its shareholders through the development of industrial real estate projects whilst improving logistics and infrastructure in the markets in which ALP operates, according to Hough,
a strategy that saw the company win Best Industrial & Logistics Development in 2018 at the Africa Property Investment Awards (API) held in South Africa.
ALP is a specialist integrated property investment company that develops, acquires and owns class-A industrial and logistics properties in principal cities across Africa.