Driving on
The financial-logistics joint venture (JV) between Sasfin and Imperial may go some way towards tackling the bottlenecks of intra-African trade.
While diplomats unveiled the much-touted African passport at an African Union meeting last week (they’re hoping it will spur trade within the continent) Sasfin and Imperial preferred to deal with the everyday realities faced by producers.
Imperial has bought 70% of Sasfin Premier Logistics, with the financial services group retaining the remainder of the shares.
The JV is called Imperial Sasfin Logistics.
The continent has long had to deal with barriers that hinder trade. A number of reports examining the link between weak regional integration and trade delays between countries have also been penned.
One World Bank report blames this on a lack of coordination across government ministries and regulatory authorities. It details how food retailer Shoprite, for example, needs about 100 single-entry import permits each week for each country it operates in, a number which rises to 300 during peak periods.
Up to 1,600 documents may accompany one of its trucks across a border with each load.
Sasfin CEO Roland Sassoon says the deal will allow Imperial to offer services such as freight forwarding and customs clearing, while Sasfin offers its trade finance and foreign exchange services.
It will be a welcome relief for clients who currently have to handle “multiple partners” from the start of the transport process to delivery at the final destination, according to Imperial Logistics CEO Johan Truter.
“[They deal with] transporters of origin, customs brokers at port of loading, ocean and airfreight carriers, customs brokers at port of destination, multiple logistics providers offering landside and warehouse services at country of destination [and] multiple financial institutions,” says Truter.