Hapag-Lloyd acquires Africa specialist NileDutch
Africa is viewed worldwide as an important strategic growth market. To further strengthen its position on the continent, Hapag-Lloyd signed a purchase agreement in mid-March to acquire all shares of the Rotterdam-based container shipping company Nile Dutch Investments B.V. (NileDutch). With roughly 40 years of expertise in the market, NileDutch ranks among the leading providers of container services from and to West Africa.
At Hapag-Lloyd, a lot is currently revolving around the Africa business. At the beginning of March, the company opened a new office in Kenya. Hapag-Lloyd has been present on the continent since 2007 and has been continuously expanding its position in the market ever since – with its own express services and its own offices in Kenya, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa. What’s more, the company has established a Quality Service Center in Mauritius to handle the concerns of its customers. These are all stable developments in line with the company’s Strategy 2023, whose objectives include identifying and growing in attractive key markets.
One of these markets is Africa. In mid-March, Hapag-Lloyd announced that it had acquired all the shares of the Africa specialist NileDutch. The completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of the responsible antitrust authorities. “The acquisition of NileDutch strengthens our position in West Africa, in particular, and will be an excellent addition to our existing activities on the continent,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd. “Our combined customer base will benefit from a denser network from and to Africa as well as from a much higher frequency of sailings.”
In fact, the Dutch shipping company NileDutch has been active on the African continent for about 40 years, and its roughly 350 employees have a special expertise in this market. Headquartered in Rotterdam, NileDutch is present in 85 locations across the world and has 16 offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Singapore, China, Angola, Congo and Cameroon. The company also brings to the table 10 liner services, around 35,000 TEU of transport capacity, and a container fleet with a capacity of around 80,000 TEU.
The carrier’s shipping experts will bring along invaluable local knowledge of key countries without own Hapag-Lloyd representation.Together with its new colleagues, Hapag-Lloyd will now be even better positioned to jointly overcome the challenges and to further develop the business there in the years ahead. “There are two main challenges in Africa,” explains Rogelio Busto, Managing Director Area South Africa . “One is port congestion, as we very often have ships that have to wait several days before they can berth. The second challenge is inland connections and delays at the borders, which can be attributed to infrastructural challenges.”
Hapag-Lloyd has already launched several new services in Africa in recent years, including the Middle East-India-Africa Express (MIAX) service and the China Kenya Express (CKX) service. “Africa is a key strategic market for Hapag-Lloyd, but mainly as a location for imports at this time,” says Rogelio Busto. “But exports are growing. The most important raw materials are minerals and foodstuffs, such as coffee, tea, fruits and other agricultural products. For example, Kenya has a growing avocado market. And the reefer market in Area South Africa has great growth potential in general.”
Complementing existing services to the Middle East, Asia, Europe and South America, NileDutch brings a range of offices and port calls along the coast of West Africa.
About NileDutch
Headquartered in Rotterdam, NileDutch is present in 85 locations across the world and has 16 own offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Singapore, China, Angola, Congo and Cameroon. With 10 liner services, around 35,000 TEU of transport capacity and a container fleet of around 80,000 TEU, the company connects Europe, Asia and Latin America with West and South Africa.
© Hapag-Lloyd AG