CEVA Logistics continues to target African continent, participates in 2024 Africa CEO Forum

Largest annual public sector event hosts leaders, decision makers for future of Africa’s development

5/23/2024

CEVA Logistics is one of the few global and truly pan-African logistics services providers present on the continent. To help shape the role of logistics in the development of Africa’s private sector, CEVA partnered with the 11th annual Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda on May 16-17. The yearly forum is the largest international meeting of the African private sector, boasting a community of 2,000 business leaders, CEOs, investors, heads of state and ministers. Both local and global CEVA executives shared industry experience and insights about responsible logistics, sustainability efforts and technology innovations across the African continent.

CEVA Logistics in Africa

Thanks to its strong network of direct presence and agency partners, CEVA is currently present in 40+ countries across Africa and is expanding operations in response to the continent’s rapidly growing retail and consumer goods, as well as traditional oil and gas, aid and relief, and project logistics sectors. CEVA connects Africa internally, especially land-locked countries by leveraging supply chain connections across all modes of transport (air, sea, ground, etc.). In addition, CEVA is developing and investing in logistics operations strategically located across the main corridors to improve the supply chain for land-locked countries and expedite distribution across the main transport corridors.

The path to sustainable growth in Africa requires navigating diverse challenges posed by varying economic conditions, regulatory landscapes, infrastructure quality and geopolitics across different countries and regions. CEVA's approach hinges on leveraging the expertise of its local workforce, who possess deep insights into the unique dynamics of their respective markets. By empowering these on-the-ground teams, CEVA can swiftly adapt its global logistics solutions to ensure reliable, efficient and environmentally responsible supply chain operations for customers.

Sustainable logistics

At this year’s event in Kigali, CEVA CEO Mathieu Friedberg shared his perspective with customers, numerous journalists and both public and private sector leaders. On the second day of the conference, he spoke on sustainability as part of a round table panel titled “Green Ports, Blue Oceans: Accelerating Decarbonization in the Maritime Industry.” CEVA is increasing the fleet of alternative fuel and elective vehicles over the coming years, working alongside air and ocean carrier partners to encourage greater adoption and supply of alternative fuels. More than 90 percent of CEVA’s emissions come from the transport bought for customers from air, ocean and ground suppliers. This significant percentage of Scope 3 (indirect) emissions means that CEVA must use its influence and scale to affect change in global supply chains.

“I remain convinced that collaboration and innovation are the way forward on sustainability in the global supply chain. At CEVA, we are taking action to address our direct carbon footprint, and we want to cultivate relationships and promote discussions leading to a common vision that will ultimately affect lasting change in our industry.” - Mathieu Friedberg, CEO, CEVA Logistics

Since 2020, CEVA Logistics has embarked on a journey to develop a growing, sustainable and ethical logistics business in Africa. CEVA sees significant opportunities for increased efficiency at transfer points in the supply chain, and digitalization continues to support those efficiency efforts. To CEVA, it is crucial to provide customers with the right information, at the right time, for them to make the best decisions possible. CEVA aims to find the most efficient transportation routes for shipments—balancing time, cost and carbon emissions—while ensuring customers have the tools and data they need to make responsible logistics decisions.

Innovation to drive change

Sylvain Kluba, CEVA’s regional managing director for the Middle East and Africa, also spoke during a panel discussion, “Conversation with the Disrupters Club - How will you shake up your Industry?” He addressed the topic of innovative ideas stemming from start-up companies and their technology solutions that positively impact the logistics sector. Kluba explained how CEVA’s parent company, the CMA CGM Group, manages ZeBox, an initiative aimed at incubating start-up companies across the globe. The panel discussion covered important initiatives like Kenya’s last-mile delivery and delivery visibility solutions. While many orders across the country are still done manually, it is becoming more common practice to adopt new tech solutions to improve the customer experience and create more agile logistics. This is just one example of how CEVA participates in the ongoing evolution of innovative technology in logistics.

Conclusion

Looking ahead, CEVA's strategy on the continent will continue to target ambitious, but sustainable growth, with the goal of making the African market account for a significant portion of the company's overall business. The strategic mergers and acquisitions activity over the past several years position CEVA well to achieve this objective, bolstering its scale, geographic footprint and key capabilities across Africa. With a stronger direct presence and an expanded agency network, CEVA now offers customers a more comprehensive and consistent suite of solutions locally in Africa and around the world. Events like the Africa CEO Forum provide a perfect place to come together to reimagine logistics. As the world evolves, CEVA remains committed to driving innovation, fostering collaboration and promoting a shared vision for a more sustainable future in the logistics industry, both in Africa and globally.