In August the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA) Africa Conference 2024 in Cape Town brought together the continent’s leading temperature-controlled logistics professionals for two days of discussion on the issues topping the agenda for businesses storing and transporting perishable goods in Africa.
I was delighted to be joined by such an impressive and experienced cohort of 100 cold-chain leaders to share their insights.
The leaders’ discussions at the conference highlighted the strength of the industry’s potential, not only for the cold chain to grow but also for further increasing the economic, environmental and social contributions that our industry brings to communities and nations across Africa.
It has become increasingly well recognised beyond our own industry that growing the cold chain in Africa is vital for resilient and sustainable food and healthcare systems.
In addition, temperature-controlled logistics have a key role to play in making a success of the African Continental Free Trade Area, and in providing a wide range of sustainable jobs across the continent, for today and tomorrow.
Discussions at the conference about the path towards a growing African cold chain that delivers these important benefits for the continent were positive and constructive.
However cold chain leaders also underlined that there were serious challenges for those looking to invest in their future and to grow the industry, not least the unreliability of energy supply, skills shortages, trade barriers and gaps in crucial infrastructure.
This is why GCCA Africa set out a Call to Action at the end of the conference, asking African policy leaders to support robust growth in the cold chain.
We have detailed a suite of policies that will enable governments and temperature-controlled logistics businesses to work together in growing the cold chain and helping realize Africa’s potential.
One such policy is to facilitate partnerships that will encourage investment in logistics infrastructure, especially logistics hubs and corridors in key locations across the continent.
It is also crucial that governments recognise cold chain as critical infrastructure that must be prioritised during energy shortages, and remove barriers to investment in energy generation.
Other important policies that we are asking governments to deliver alongside our industry are investing in cold chain infrastructure, from reefer plug-in points to warehouse construction, and transportation hubs across Africa’s Port network.
Promoting the range of fulfilling lifelong careers available in cold chain while also ensuring access to practical training are also crucial.
The discussions at the GCCA Africa Conference 2024 showed very clearly that collaboration between national governments, development bodies such as the Southern African Development Community, and businesses operating temperature-controlled storage and distribution, can help deliver the cold chain infrastructure, innovation and skills that are fit for today and for the future.
GCCA will be working on the industry’s behalf to bring about this crucial collaboration in the months and years ahead.