Technology is helping logistics companies to cope better with African logistics pain points such as border delays, infrastructure challenges, high costs and poor visibility. African entrepreneurs and techies are driving the change. Kenyas AI platform Leta.ai uses predictive analytics for dynamic routing. According to Leta, African businesses pay up to four times the global average to move goods. Transport costs drive up the prices of essentials like food and medicine and make it harder for businesses to grow, it states. Established in Kenya in 2022, the company now supports the movement of goods in Uganda, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Mauritius. Since its launch, Leta has optimised 6.5 million deliveries of over 150 000 tons of goods. It is used to manage over 8 300 vehicles. According to the company, Kenya provides an ideal testing ground for African logistics technological innovation. Kenya is the third-largest e-commerce market in Africa, after South Africa and Nigeria. Nairobi is also a regional technology hub, boasting some of the highest mobile internet usage on the continent, it states. Most importantly, Kenya has lived through several logistics experiments. Startups like Sendy pushed different models around fulfilment, tracking and real-time coordination. Some scaled, others didnt, but the market learned quickly. Today, Kenyan logistics companies operate with a sharper understanding of what works on the ground, which is why many logistics ideas are refined here before spreading across Africa, it adds. Another African innovator is Senegalese-based Logidoo, which describes itself as a technology startup that connects and integrates the entire value chain of the African economy using technology and data. The platform incorporates trading with logistics. Investment fund Launch Africa says the platform operates as a marketplace and the company plugs into the systems of the logistics providers to generate instant quotes for the clients. The logistics provider then receives the order and takes care of the delivery. Digital twins and AI are strengthening South Africas supply chains by improving visibility, strengthening resilience and connecting systems in real time, according to Vinesh Maharaj, director of smart manufacturing and industry at NTT DATA in the Middle East and Africa. A big practical advantage of digital twins is how they help you plan ahead. Because they connect continuous streams of data, you have the information at your fingertips to model different scenarios upfront. For example, if a shipment is delayed, a digital twin will show you the knock-on effects and how you can plan around them, he says. For manufacturers in South Africa and around the world who operate on a knife- edge, this is crucial. Planning becomes responsive and informed, and decisions can be made at lightning speed, he adds. ER
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