DHL optimistic over Africa
DHL would not be put off by a “slight economic slowdown” in Africa and would continue to invest in the region.
|||Cape Town - DHL would not be put off by a “slight economic slowdown” in Africa and would continue to invest in the region, a senior executive said on Thursday.
Hennie Heymans, managing director of DHL Express sub-Saharan Africa, said the global logistics company still firmly believed that Africa was one of the last frontiers for growth, and that the region would continue to grow because of the vast number of unexploited opportunities available to local and foreign investors.
Noting the World Bank's recent finding that Sub-Saharan Africa's real GDP growth rate in 2015 was the lowest since 2009, Heymans said, “Africa will continue to thrive, albeit at a slightly slower pace as previously experienced”.
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He said 2015 had been a particularly tough year for Africa, with slowing demand for commodities adding to other challenges such as widespread drought caused by the El Niño weather pattern.
However, he said, the region “abounds with untapped prospects and offers growth opportunities in 2016 for those willing to seek them out”.
He said the optimistic view was supported by the World Bank's latest Africa's Pulse report. Author and acting chief economist for the World Bank for Africa, Punam Chuhan-Pole, said about the report's findings: “The good news is that domestic demand generated by consumption, investment and government spending will nudge economic growth upwards to 4.4 percent in 2016, and to 4.8 percent in 2017.”
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The Africa's Pulse report also highlighted the fact that growth prospects varied across the continent. Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania, for example, were listed as countries that are expected to sustain growth of approximately 7 percent per year from 2015 to 2017.
Heymans said this resonated with DHL's experience that each country offered unique growth opportunities. He mentioned Ethiopia, where the telecomms sector was already a large contributor to GDP in 2015 when there were 40 million mobile subscribers and 10 million internet connections in the country.
However, he said, with a population of more than 90 million, the sector has capacity to double its contribution to GDP.
He also mentioned Mozambique, where the retail sector offered huge opportunities, and Rwanda, which was working towards becoming a regional Information and Communications Technology hub, which had stimulated demand for ICT-related equipment. “The opportunities are clearly there. It's all about having a long-term, sustainable focus on the region.
“As we move into the second quarter of 2016, DHL Express will continue to invest in the SSA region, in our people and our network, with the ultimate goal of seeing Africa thriving,” Heymans noted.
AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY