Africa is experiencing an unprecedented transformation in the logistics and supply chain sector. This is driven by a new generation of visionary leaders. These personalities do not just run companies, but reinvent the standards of the sector through innovation, digitalization and bold strategies adapted to the realities of the continent. From the modernization of port infrastructures to revolutionary e-commerce platforms, these emblematic figures are redefining the contours of logistics in Africa. Discover below the brilliant journeys of ten of these visionaries. Through their expertise and commitment, they are shaping the future of the supply chain in West Africa.
The year 2024 will remain etched in the memory of Malick Ndiaye who has known suffering and happiness in the most extreme. His commitment to politics and his unwavering determination to serve his country have categorically changed the course of his destiny over the last six months. From political opponent of 1rd category under electronic bracelet, then Ministry of Infrastructure, Land and Air Transport (MITTA) and now President of the National Assembly of Senegal. He had never experienced emotions of such intensity before.
The most remarkable fact in this story is that he was, for a good part of all that time, the head of the port activities department of the Multinational. Eramet Grande Côte where he was in charge of all port & maritime logistics and road & rail transport activities. In fact, his political commitment to PASTEF did not call into question his professionalism and responsibilities in this company.
Last April, when he was appointed Minister in charge of land and air transport, he acquired another dimension. At the head of this department, he carried out the reorganization of this ministry with a new organizational chart, appointed quality people at the level of the companies under the supervision of MITTA and organized the General States of Public Transport (EGTP), a first in the history of Senegal.
Mamadou Biro Diallo is the current Director General of the Autonomous Port of Conakry (PAC). Indeed, he played an important role in the development of the PAC which was successively designated in 2022, 2023 and 2024 as the best port in West Africa according to the World Bank port index.
He developed the port and logistics infrastructure of the PAC, which has seen significant progress in terms of modernization and innovation in handling operations. Under his leadership, he put the Port of Conakry back in the ranks of major ports in Africa through excellence in innovation, compliance with the best international requirements in terms of port safety and security, and openness.
Mr. Diallo is an inspiring leader who proactively contributes to the economic development of his country by facilitating trade and logistics.
Jean Paul Dambana is a key leader in the logistics sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He is the CEO of the company Socodam which he founded 30 years ago. The latter is one of the largest leaders in the logistics sector in his country. It operates in several sectors such as agri-food, mining, oil & gas. It exerts a great influence in Central Africa and has reliable partners in Rwanda, Congo Brazzaville, Central Africa and Rwanda.
Mr. Dambana is also the President of the Customs Brokers of his country and is thus a leader of the private sector. Thus, he is often consulted by the President of the Republic of his country as a good captain of industry.
Mr. Dambana also owns several other companies including Sodassur, an insurance company and a television channel called Business Life TV.
When it comes to logistics, Morocco is one of the best in Africa. Yassine Adib, founder of the company Almav Logistics is a symbol of Moroccan leadership in this sector.
Indeed, his company is a major in the Moroccan logistics industry and its area of influence touches the Maghreb, Mediterranean Europe and goes as far as sub-Saharan Africa. His company specializes in warehousing logistics, storage and intelligent handling of physical, financial and information flows.
Thanks to its latest generation technologies, Almav Logistics handles the warehousing and inventory management of several large industrial groups such as Patisen in Senegal, Unilever and Bosch in Europe, and Whirlpool in Morocco.
When it comes to talking about the digitalization of logistics services, Ibrahima Diagne is one of the pioneers in Africa. He is the founder and administrator of Gained 2000, the company that developed the GAINDE information system for the Senegalese Customs administration.
The GAINDE system (Automated Management of Customs and Economic Information) has enabled the dematerialization of the customs clearance procedure for transit operations in Senegal. Doing better, Gaindé 2000 has developed the Orbus Infinity system, which is the electronic single window that catalyzes all of Senegal's foreign trade operations.
As a technology development company, Gaindé 2000 also operates in the sub-region to deliver services to its clients.
A biologist by training, Serigne Ndanck Mbaye fell under the spell of logistics when he was Head of the yellow fever vaccine production unit at the Pasteur Institute in Dakar. Being involved in the logistics process of exporting vaccines, he developed skills in this sector.
Which allowed him to join DHL Express Senegal as Operations Manager and then General Manager of DHL Global Forwarding, which he managed to turn around between 2011 and 2015. Thus in 2018, he was promoted to Managing Director of DGF for all of West Africa with its headquarters based in Ghana.
Serigne is also a great amateur cyclist. We can even say that he is even a professional passionate about cycling, which he uses to promote the DHL label but also trade and logistics in Africa. In 2024, he organized a tour of Senegal, covering 730 km.
Passionate about technology and business, Racine Sarr has inevitably contributed to the development of eCommerce and logistics in Senegal and beyond in Africa. Its platform Shopmeaway which contains the entire catalog of the global giant Amazon, has boosted eCommerce on the continent by allowing customers to buy reliably and pay locally with mobile money or cash on delivery.
Thus, he managed to remove the obstacle of payment by bank card which is a brake for African e-buyers because many do not have one on the continent and the obstacle of delivery because the big e-commerce sites have enormous difficulties in delivering to Africa.
Racine has succeeded in facilitating and democratizing the supply to Africans for the greatest happiness of startups, SMEs & SMIs, who now no longer have problems buying internationally with the best price conditions including international transport, storage and final delivery.
To do this, his team developed the company's own technological applications that reliably track all customer orders and collect product data.
Tamsir is a logistics genius and one of the best of his generation. His passion for logistics is overwhelming and this drives him to find solutions to the logistics problems that we often encounter in Africa.
For him, logistics must be Africanized so that it can adapt to the local environment and be efficient. It is in this sense that he launched Logidoo in 2019, the first logistics services marketplace in Africa which allows economic operators to easily find a freight, storage or handling provider.
Since then, Logidoo has been connecting African markets through regular connections within Africa and between Africa and the rest of the world by sea, air and road. Logidoo operates weekly road freight shipments between Morocco and Senegal, between Africa and Europe. The platform also serves the Americas and Asia.
Recently, Logidoo launched two new services Doomaket, an ERP that allows merchants to manage their product storage and at the same time transport and Afridoo, a tool that allows sourcing anywhere in the world and which will make it easier for African companies to purchase and supply all types of products.
A software development engineer by training, Moustapha is a man of the inner circle in entrepreneurship in Senegal. After launching several startups with his brother Alioune Ndoye, they finally found their way with Load which they created in 2022.
The latter is a digital road freight platform that connects shippers and loaders. Currently, 8000 carriers road transport is available in the platform between Senegal and Ivory Coast where the company has set up a dedicated office.
The strength of this duo lies in their ability and influence to raise funds from Silicon Valley venture capital firms. Which is undoubtedly the most difficult thing in Africa when you have just launched a startup. Indeed, already in 2022, they had managed to raise USD 750000 and then USD 2,5 million in 2023.
The company is in good financial health and has a positive growth profile. It aims to cover the entire West African region. In this way, it contributes significantly to the development of local content.
Oumar is one of the first Senegalese to launch into last-mile courier and parcel delivery services. His company, Yobanté Express (YES) was founded in 2018 and is part of the Top 5 Logistics Companies in Africa that Use Artificial Intelligence in the Operation of Their Activities.
YES is an online marketplace that connects local couriers with local commerce to solve emerging markets’ biggest problems: domestic, cross-border, and last-mile delivery. Its web and mobile platform leverages Gig-economy couriers in a “ resilient mesh network » relay points to deliver packages from one point to another up to the last mile. Our machine learning algorithm determines an optimized route for each package we deliver.
Today, YES is present in several countries in Africa including Senegal, South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria. Its headquarters are in Delaware, USA. One of Oumar's biggest bets was to create a company from the USA, to raise the necessary funds for its implementation in French-speaking and English-speaking countries in Africa.
Author: Editorial Team
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