African logistics and transport infrastructure challenges

Logistics and transport infrastructure across Southern and Central Africa are facing significant bottlenecks that hinder economic activity and trade.

In South Africa, the freight and logistics networks struggle with inadequate infrastructure and a lack of integrated connectivity between production sites and ports. Challenges include road congestion, unreliable rail services, and port delays. While private capital, such as Absa’s R5.1 billion financing for Newlyn Group, is being utilized to develop multimodal infrastructure, industry experts are advocating for a permanent logistics council to coordinate structural reforms and engage with the Department of Transport.

In the Copperbelt region, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia face similar difficulties transporting copper to maritime ports. A heavy reliance on road transport—accounting for over 80% of copper exports—is driven by weak railway infrastructure and a lack of direct rail connections at mining sites. In the Republic of the Congo, transporters are increasingly adopting mobile application-based fleet tracking to manage costs, security, and operational uncertainties associated with road transport.