DHL’s digital road freight platform Saloodo! makes inroad into Angola

DHL Global Forwarding, the leading international provider of air, sea and road freight services has launched its digital road freight platform Saloodo! in Angola, to connect shippers and transport providers. This marks the first time an international digital road freight platform is made available in the country that will cater to the road transportation needs of Angolan businesses.
Over the last decade, the Angolan Government has prioritised the repair, expansion and modernisation of road infrastructure. According to a recent report by the World Bank, Angola has road networks ranging between 26,000 km and 17,500 km respectively. However, as with a lot of countries globally, road freight is still a rather fragmented market with low transparency.
“Strategic investments in infrastructure will boost the country’s economic recovery as it aids in the diversification of trade,” said Tobias Maier, CEO of Saloodo! Middle East and Africa. “Road freight digitalization helps to facilitate trade not just within the country, but will equally drive activities in the greater continental region. To this end, it is imperative that we actively push to accelerate digitalization to propel business growth for our customers.”
According to The World Bank, Angola is one of many countries which has yet to overcome challenges in logistics and trade facilitation. However, this is slowly changing given significant infrastructure investments by the government, such as enhancing traffic flow at Port Luanda, and constructing a new commercial port at Barra do Dande (North of Luanda), thereby increasing Luanda’s accessibility from a logistics point of view.
“These recent upgrades to road, railway and ports bodes well for the Angolan logistics industry as a whole. I am convinced that this is an opportune time to launch Saloodo!, leapfrogging the traditionally manual processes to inject greater transparency and efficiency into the road freight eco-system. By providing real-time visibility, shippers can easily identify trusted and reliable freight carriers in Angola and several neighbouring countries to move their goods. This will in turn help carriers manage existing fleets and optimise capacity with full-truckload shipments,” concludes Maier.
Original Source: http://africasciencenews.org/dhls-digital-road-freight-platform-saloodo-makes-inroad-into-angola/