Africa gets all-in-one transport and logistics platform

Thelo Group, which provides transport and logistics solutions for freight owners across Africa, is adding new services to combine different transportation methods (rail, ports and trucks) to create efficient routes for moving resources at lower cost.

These resources are largely mining commodities, agricultural produce, containers and bulk liquids.

Thelo’s offering of interconnected transport corridors is in response to Africa’s transportation challenges, and a strategic move to support African Continental Free Trade Area’s (AfCFTA) single market.

As a result of the AfCFTA, the transport sector is expected to expand by nearly 50%, significantly boosting intra-African trade. But its success hinges on improving Africa’s road, rail and transport infrastructure; a challenge that Thelo is actively addressing. Currently, transportation costs related to logistics in Africa are up to 75% higher than in other parts of the world.

Thelo Group chairman Ronnie Ntuli says the group is mobilising capital from investors in Africa and internationally and leveraging world-class engineering and operational capacity to create large-scale interconnected transport and logistics corridors for Africa.

“As an independent African company, Thelo is playing an instrumental role in developing, operating and managing national and regional development corridors. Importantly, Thelo’s multi-freight, multi-user approach will deliver more efficient transport solutions to multiple freight owners at economies of scale that will reduce transport and logistic costs,” Ntuli says.

Thelo’s skills, capacity and years of experience in the sector, together with the understanding of Africa’s transport and logistics infrastructure market sets the company apart and gives it a leading advantage, adds Ntuli.

“By bringing world-class global expertise and capacity to the African railway and ports sector, we are the right strategic partner for investors in Africa’s transport and logistics sector,” he says.

Thelo will transform its relationship with DB Engineering & Consulting (DB E&C), a subsidiary of the Deutsche Bahn (DB) Group AG, from an equity joint venture to an exclusive strategic partnership.

DB E&C will be Thelo’s technical partner across sub-Saharan Africa to develop, manage and deliver engineering, technical and consulting capacity, as well as to enhance the operational efficiencies of Thelo’s railway sector projects.

Ntuli says the group is honoured by DB’s continued commitment to its partnership in the sub-Saharan region of Africa and are thrilled to continue working together on an exclusive basis with the leading fully integrated, global railway conglomerate.

“With the group’s depth of global experience and expertise, built over 180 years in the mobility sector, DB is the best partner for Thelo to work with in developing integrated transport and logistics infrastructure on the continent of Africa,” says Ntuli.

Managing director for international markets at DB E&C Stefan Geisperger says global and long-standing experience and expertise in the railway sector, coupled with the ongoing valued relationship with Thelo, are crucial for delivering on Africa’s critical need for integrated transport infrastructure.

“DB remains firmly committed to our partnership with Thelo in Africa under our newly restructured and exclusive partnership,” he says.