Page 10 - LUA Sep - October 2022 for Magzter

COVER STORY
post-Covid era. More needs to be done in
terms of adding capacity and connectivity
to and within Africa as some of the carriers
have not fully recovered and returned to
pre-Covid levels.
Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo
at Qatar Airways told the publication,
“E-commerce is the fastest growing
vertical in the industry. We are seeing a
demand for e-commerce imports into
Africa, which is forecast to increase as
internet technologies and smartphones Astral Aviation
become more accessible. There is sufficient
room for further growth of e-commerce has invested
in Africa. For the calendar year 2021 in additional
(January to December), we transported
close to 39,800 tonnes of e-commerce freighter
shipments, most of these destined from aircrafts to meet
Asia to the West. More than 500 tonnes of the demand for
e-commerce shipments were transported
to Africa during the same period. e-commerce
Electronics, mobile phones, apparel, to and within
beauty, and hair products are some of
the items being purchased through Africa.
e-commerce portals by people in Africa. SANJEEV GADHIA
Qatar Airways Cargo has a very strong ASTRAL AVIATION electronics to fashion, using Zipline’s
and innovative product to support the
e-commerce boom and we also work with
partners such as Cainiao to support their
business on key trade lanes.”
Sanjeev Gadhia, founder and CEO
of a dedicated all-cargo airline based in
Nairobi, Kenya, Astral Aviation told the
publication, “Astral Aviation has invested
in additional freighter aircraft to meet the
demand for e-commerce to and within
Africa. Astral operates dedicated freighters
from Hong Kong and Dubai to Africa
with a mix of e-commerce and general
cargoes which enables its clients to connect
with its intra-African network ex Nairobi.”
However, Gadhia highlights slow Africa has its
government action, lack of a harmonized own challenges,
regulation on e-commerce imports, and
verification in cargo delays as challenges in people are
this sector. fighting for day-
“The major challenge faced by
e-commerce logistics companies are the to-day survival,
customs and revenue authorities which are for jobs, and
causing delays due to verification which
defeats the value-proposition of e-commerce e-commerce in
cargoes which needs an expedited process, many ways is
different from general cargoes. Due to still like a luxury
the lack of a harmonised regulation on
e-commerce imports, the duties and for many.
additional handling costs are based on GIRRAJ SHARMA
verification and can be unpredictable at OMNIBIZ AFRICA to shape the African digital economy and
times. African governments and revenue
8 LUA
authorities are slow to respond to the
opportunities of e-commerce which will
result in new opportunities for development,
hence the need to offer incentives to
encourage an increase in e-commerce
imports,” Gadhia adds.
DRONES ARE COMING
One solution that can sidestep the current
overwhelming ‘transportation challenges’
and take e-commerce to new heights are
drones which have proven their case in
Africa. Drones have had a rather successful
run in Africa having been used to provide
public health mechanisms and in recent
vaccination initiatives in remote and hard-
to-reach areas of Africa.
It is likely that drones will soon be
deployed for e-commerce as well. More
recently, in a first for the continent, Jumia
has signed up with Zipline to deploy
drones for online shopping deliveries in
Africa and is reportedly offering delivery
of products across Ghana. Jumia is slated
to provide a variety of products, from
autonomous logistics system.
“This collaboration of Zipline and
Jumia is one of the many things we are
doing to grow e-commerce and logistics in
every nook and corner of Africa. We are
committed to delivering wherever you are
in Africa. And today, if you are living in
Africa, you can order stuff from China,
Dubai and Turkey and Jumia delivers it
to you. You can order your groceries and
they will come to you the next morning,
and you can order your pizza and it will
come to you in 20 minutes. You can order
your quick commerce stuff, and it will
come to you in 15 minutes. So all these
operating models and logistics solutions
are enablers to growing the business and
serving the needs of customers of Africa.
This drone partnership is an extension
of that mission and vision,” Apoorva
Kumar informs.
All in all, as Juliet Annamah,
Chairwoman of Jumia Nigeria and Group
Chief Sustainability Officer observed in a
recent release from the company, "The first
decade of e-commerce driven primarily by
the private sector in Africa is drawing to a
close. The next decade demands close and
positive collaboration between public and
private sector partners working together
unlock its full potential for the people."
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2022