Ethiopian Airlines, which assumes a majority stake in this joint venture, will provide regulatory and operational support as DHL Global Forwarding establishes air, ocean, and road freight connections between Ethiopia’s main trade hubs and the rest of the world. Pramod Bagalwadi, a DHL veteran with over two decades of experience in management roles within the logistics industry, has been appointed to lead the new organization. This will be an additional portfolio for Pramod, who currently leads the Industrial Projects Team for DHL in Sub-Saharan Africa and a strategic business partner for the company in the region.
“With its GDP growth, Africa is stepping into the spotlight as production hub. 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”, said Amadou Diallo, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Middle East and Africa.
“Logistics is key to support Africa’s fast economic growth and industrialization drive. Ethiopian has, therefore, partnered with DHL who has a proven expertise and experience in the logistics sector, with a view to avail the right logistics solutions in terms of cost, time and quality. We have had a longstanding and mutually rewarding partnership with DHL, and with this JV we aim to make the country a logistics hub for Africa,” said Tewolde GebreMariam, CEO, Ethiopian Airlines Group.
The joint venture is another step in an extended partnership between DHL Global Forwarding and Ethiopian Airlines. Since 2010, DHL Global Forwarding has been supporting the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations of Ethiopian Airlines’ commercial segment, extending various solutions on end-to-end Logistics Services for aircraft parts, engines and mechanical modules to textile, utensils, food and beverages – via air and ocean freight between Europe and Asia.
The joint venture will provide much-needed freight capacity and logistics infrastructure to Africa, where soaring economic growth has rapidly driven up demand for international forwarding and handling services.