DHL, Ethiopian Airlines Scale Up their Joint Venture

DHL and Ethiopian Airlines are expanding operations in Ethiopia. The company appointed Berhanu Kassa as General Manager to lead DHL-Ethiopian Airlines Logistics Services as it scales up its operations with three established stations, and a fourth by end of the year. 

Berhanu was previously the Director of Logistics Services at Ethiopian Airlines. His appointment comes at a time when Ethiopia is focused on growing its economy by building industrial parks in key locations to accelerate the growth of exports from Ethiopia. He takes over from Pramod Bagalwadi, CEO, DHL global forwarding, Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Since its formation in 2018, the company has scaled up operations considerably and now offers services in various different sectors including air, ocean and road freight services; customs brokerage, deep-sea chartering activity, heavy lift cargo, and international supply chain solutions for customers. 

The DGF facilities in four key sites - Addis Ababa airport, Hawassa Industrial Park, Bole Lemi Industrial Park and the upcoming site at the Modjo Dry Port - provide a range of logistics solutions for various sectors. The Hawaasa and Bole Lemi stations mainly serve export from the industrial parks, while stations in Addis Ababa and Modjo will serve both export and import, with the capability to handle international supply chain projects, as well as customs brokerage.

“As the government targets to achieve 11% GDP growth annually under its growth plan, Ethiopia’s focus on export-led industrialization in sectors like energy, transport, and manufacturing and the expansion of physical infrastructure, will see its industrial sector expand by 20%. In order for Ethiopian businesses to seize this opportunity and expand globally, they need fast, reliable logistics connectivity to overseas markets, backed by industry expertise and high-quality transport infrastructure," said Pramod Bagalwadi. “We are making available training opportunities in the region to ensure that our colleagues are trained to the highest standards set by DHL globally, and lending our expertise to help enhance local infrastructure."

“In the past twelve months, we have invested in growing the team to full strength and have established three stations in Addis Ababa airport, and in the major manufacturing hubs of Hawassa Industrial Park and Bole Lemi Industrial Park. Our stations are strategically located for us to be close to where our customers operate, allowing us to achieve time and cost efficiency in our processes,” said Berhanu Kassa. “We are also planning to launch a fourth station at the Modjo Dry Port by early 2020 where 95% of the country’s imports and exports pass through.”