“AfCFTA will not reward the companies that simply wait for tariff cuts. It will reward those who master logistics.“
Those words still echo in our minds from our first-ever participation at IATF 2025 in Algiers. When former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chair of the IATF Advisory Council, warmly received our team and commended Sunbeth for being an official sponsor and industry leader, it wasn’t just recognition, but a validation of what we see every day: the companies shaping Africa’s trade future are solving logistics complexity, not avoiding it.
Welcome to the first edition of our newsletter. We’re excited to pull back the curtain on our world and share the journey we’re on at Sunbeth Shipping & Logistics. This isn’t your typical logistics company information dump. This is where we get real about the challenges, celebrate the wins, and hopefully give you insights that make your supply chain decisions.
If you missed IATF 2025, you missed something special. Over 112,000 participants, deals worth $48.3 billion, and conversations that will shape African trade for the next decade. We were there, notebooks in hand, soaking it all up.
Walking through those exhibition halls in Algiers, the same conversations kept surfacing at every booth, every panel, every coffee break. Customs bottlenecks that turn 3-day shipments into 3-week nightmares. The rising premium companies are willing to pay for delivery predictability, because in today’s market, “it’ll get there eventually” doesn’t cut it anymore. The frustration with fragmented networks that force you to work with six different partners just to move goods from Lagos to Johannesburg.
These aren’t abstract industry challenges; they’re the difference between scaling your business or watching opportunities slip away while your products sit in a warehouse somewhere.
The Continental Customs Maze
Trade liberalization may lower tariffs, but the intricacies haven’t vanished. Documentation processes vary from border to border. Inland waterways sitting underutilized while trucks queue for hours on congested roads. Tax inconsistencies that quietly eat into your margins faster than you can calculate them.
This maze is where expansion strategies either advance or face delays. Companies that build logistics strategies to navigate it will unlock growth others can’t reach.
With intra-African trade currently sitting at just 15% of total African trade (compared to 60% in Asia), there’s massive room for growth. But that growth belongs to companies that can navigate complexity, not those waiting for it to disappear.
Predictability Premium
Speed matters, but in today’s market, predictability is the true measure of competitiveness. Businesses now demand supply chains that consistently deliver on time, safeguard contracts, keep shelves stocked, and free up millions in working capital that would otherwise be stuck in transit. Uncertainty, by contrast, destroys trust, erodes margins, and forces companies into costly buffer stock.
What makes predictability possible is innovation. Tools like digital documentation, real-time tracking, smarter route planning, and cleaner fleets are no longer “nice-to-haves”, they are the baseline. In African trade, certainty is the new currency, and the companies that can guarantee it will ultimately define the market.
Signals from IATF were unmistakable: the time for easy entry is narrowing. Early movers are already locking in capacity, securing preferred partnerships, and shaping the networks that will define Africa’s trade flow for years to come.
With the next IATF scheduled for Lagos in 2027 and AfCFTA implementation accelerating, the companies that thrive won’t necessarily be the biggest or most capitalized. They’ll be the ones who master logistics complexity first and leverage that capability for sustained growth.
Studies project a 45% increase in intra-African exports by 2045, adding $275.7 billion in cross-border trade value. But here’s what the numbers don’t tell you: those gains will be concentrated among companies ready to handle the operational reality behind the opportunity.
Patterns We’ve Observed in Successful Operations
We’ve seen patterns in which businesses that are succeeding have found ways to navigate these bottlenecks. These aren’t strategies you stumble upon. They require specialized knowledge of regulatory patterns, established relationships across corridors, and operational insights that only come from logistics experience.
Where This Leaves You
Continental integration is creating opportunities and highlighting who’s ready to seize them. If your expansion strategy doesn’t account for these logistics realities, it’s time to have that conversation. We’ve seen too many good companies hit preventable walls because they underestimated logistics complexity. We’ve also seen others unlock growth they didn’t know was possible because they approached it strategically.
Ready to explore continental expansion? Our team of professionals are ready for a consultation on navigating continental logistics complexity. Send an email to corporatecommsandcorporateaffairs@sunbeth.net or call 08058088889
We remain your trusted partner in trade facilitation.
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