DHL enters Ethiopian logistics market

Ethiopian Airlines and DHL have agreed to form a joint-venture company to create what they call the leading cargo logistics provider in Africa, the companies.

Named DHL-Ethiopian Airlines Logistics Services, the company will base its operations in Ethiopia and do business throughout Africa, thereby improving Ethiopia’s logistics infrastructure and connections.

Under the terms of the contract, Ethiopian Airlines takes a majority stake in the joint venture and has agreed to provide regulatory and operational support, while DHL establishes air, ocean, and road freight connections between Ethiopia’s main trade hubs and the rest of the world. The companies have appointed Pramod Bagalwadi, a DHL veteran with more than two decades of experience in management roles within the logistics industry, to lead the new organisation. He will also continue to lead DHL’s industrial projects team in sub-Saharan Africa.

“With its GDP growth, Africa is stepping into the spotlight as a production hub,” said Amadou Diallo, CEO DHL Global Forwarding Middle East and Africa. “Recent moves to open up the economy will continue to boost Ethiopia’s position as the fastest-growing economy in Africa, and under Pramod’s leadership the company will be able to provide a scalable and durable logistics infrastructure to safely handle the sensitive needs of its core industries.”

The joint venture builds on an extended partnership between Ethiopian and DHL Global Forwarding, which since 2010 has supported the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations of Ethiopian Airlines’ commercial segment, providing logistics services for aircraft parts, engines, and mechanical modules to textile, utensils, food, and beverages via air and ocean freight between Europe and Asia.