SOGENA INTERNATIONAL

What SOGENA INTERNATIONAL does

SOGENA INTERNATIONAL is a privately held French freight forwarding and shipping company headquartered in Le Havre, operating as part of the SOGENA family group with maritime heritage tracing to SOCIETE NAVALE CAENNAISE in 1828. The company organizes multimodal transport across maritime, air, container, heavy cargo, bulk, roro, and barging modes, and provides shipping agency, port operations, stevedoring, customs representation under Article 18 of the Union Customs Code, trucking, and bonded warehousing. Its principal operating asset is the African Hub in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, comprising a 24,000 sqm port concession with 9,000 sqm of warehouses, an owned fleet of 25 trucks and 60 trailers, and heavy handling equipment, functioning as a delivery gateway into landlocked Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

The technology stack is conventional logistics IT rather than a software product: a Terminal Operation System with mobile computing for container and breakbulk management, a Shipping Management System, a Trucking Management System, an FWD freight forwarding operations system, and EDI interfaces for tracking and KPI reporting. Geolocation of the fleet is delivered via Orange's Fleet Control Network. Services are delivered through direct enterprise sales supplemented by a global network of strategic carrier partnerships and local African agents.

Revenue is generated across multiple streams: freight forwarding commissions, shipping agency and chartering fees, port operations and stevedoring, customs representation, transport and trucking, and warehousing. Pricing is quote-based, tailored to cargo, route, and regulatory profile, with monthly billing on 30-day payment terms under published General Sales Conditions. Customers are concentrated in three verticals: Africa Trade Operators (primary), Maritime and Shipping, and Oil and Gas. No external institutional capital, funding rounds, or disclosed financial figures are present in the available material.

Name

SOGENA INTERNATIONAL

Legal name

SOGENA INTERNATIONAL

Website

https://sogena-international.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SOGENA INTERNATIONAL is a privately held French freight forwarder and shipping agency, headquartered in Le Havre, that organizes multimodal transport worldwide and operates an integrated African Hub in Ivory Coast for customs, port handling, warehousing, and delivery into landlocked West Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Freight Forwarding and Logistics Services

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (48851), Marine Cargo Handling (48832), Specialized Freight Trucking (4842)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412)

akta.pro primary industry

FCL (Full Container Load) Ocean Forwarding (TLACABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Project & OOG/Breakbulk Ocean Forwarding (Out-of-Gauge, RoRo) (TLACABAH), Customs Brokerage for Ocean Shipments (Import/Export Clearance) (TLACABAG), Ocean Export Forwarding (Booking/VGM/SI/BL) (TLACABAF)

Keywords

• Freight forwarding services
• Multimodal transport solutions
• Shipping agency services
• Port operations stevedoring
• Customs brokerage warehousing

Headquarters

HQ city

Le Havre

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Freight Forwarding Commission: Commission-based freight forwarding services organizing multimodal transport (maritime, air, containers, heavy cargo, bulk, roro, barging) for customers. Acts as Transport and Logistics Organizer (OTL) managing the supply chain from shipper to consignee.
2. Shipping Agency Services: Shipping agency services including vessel consignment, chartering (tramping), representation of regular shipping lines, and ship husbandry services.
3. Port Operations and Stevedoring: Port operations, stevedoring, and cargo handling services including bagged cargo, heavy lift, and general cargo. Services provided in Ivory Coast through owned equipment and facilities.
4. Customs Representation: Registered customs agent services under Article 18 of the Union Customs Code, handling customs clearance for port, airport, and frontier operations.
5. Transport and Trucking Services: Urban, national, and regional transport services in Ivory Coast using owned fleet of 25 trucks and 60 trailers. Delivery hub services to landlocked countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger).
6. Warehousing and Storage: Storage and warehousing services including bonded and cleared storage, with facilities in port area (24,000 sqm concession with 9,000 sqm warehouses).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

SOGENA INTERNATIONAL is a freight forwarding and logistics provider organizing multimodal transport (maritime, air, containers, heavy cargo, bulk, roro, barging) from shipper to consignee. The company operates as a Transport and Logistics Organizer (OTL), delivering integrated services including shipping agency (vessel consignment, chartering, ship husbandry), port operations and stevedoring, customs clearance, warehousing, and inland trucking, with a strategic African Hub in Ivory Coast serving as a delivery gateway to landlocked West African countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger).

Product overview

SOGENA INTERNATIONAL is a freight forwarding and logistics company offering a portfolio of integrated services centered on three core offerings: Freight Forwarding (multimodal transport with air/sea freight, LCL/FCL, heavy lift, chartering, door-to-door solutions), Shipping & Port Handling (chartering, shipping agency, port operations, stevedoring), and African Hub operations (customs clearance, deconsolidation, warehousing, transport to landlocked countries). The company's value proposition is strengthened by proprietary IT systems including Terminal Operation System for container/breakbulk management, Shipping Management System, Trucking Management System, Fleet Control Network with Orange for geolocation, and FWD for freight forwarding operations. The African Hub operates from a 24,000 sqm port concession in Ivory Coast with 9,000 sqm of warehouses and an owned fleet of 25 trucks and 60 trailers. The company is part of the SOGENA group, stemming from maritime transport activities dating back to 1828.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Freight Forwarding Multimodal transport solutions offering air and sea freight services, handling LCL, FCL, air freight, heavy lift/oversize cargo, with extended services including PO management, cross-docking, warehousing, customs brokerage, container stuffing, consolidation, inland transportation, chartering, door-to-door solutions, and destination delivery. Targeted at businesses engaged in international trade with Africa.
• Shipping & Port Handling
• African Hub

Quantifiable outcome

• End-to-end supply chain visibility with real-time tracking
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Leading Worldwide PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnerships with leading worldwide carriers that strengthen the transportation network and enable global coverage for freight forwarding services. These partnerships complement the company's own African network.
• Local African AgentscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAfrican locations implemented through partnerships with strongly established local agents. These partnerships ensure reliable and quality operational follow-up services with full expertise of local processes and regulations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Geodis: French global freight forwarder and logistics provider offering multimodal forwarding, customs, warehousing, and contract logistics — directly comparable business model and customer base, with significantly larger scale and capital resources.
• CEVA Logistics: Global freight forwarding and contract logistics provider (CMA CGM group) with multimodal ocean, air, and road services plus customs and warehousing — directly comparable end-to-end service model, particularly across Africa-Europe corridors.
• Africa Global Logistics (AGL): Pan-African port, logistics, and shipping operator with terminal concessions across West and Central Africa (including Côte d'Ivoire); directly comparable port-handling and inland logistics footprint to SOGENA's African Hub.
• Bolloré Logistics (now CMA CGM Logistics): French-headquartered multimodal logistics group with deep West and Central African footprint, including owned port concessions, customs operations, and inland transport to landlocked countries — the closest direct competitor to SOGENA's African Hub model.

Broad incumbents

• CMA CGM (Shipping & Logistics): French ocean carrier and integrated logistics operator; SOGENA serves as shipping agent for carriers including those in CMA CGM's network, and the group has acquired Bolloré Logistics — a major competitive force on France-Africa trade lanes.
• DB Schenker: German-headquartered global freight forwarder with strong ocean and air forwarding, contract logistics, and customs capabilities; competes for similar enterprise shippers moving cargo between Europe and Africa.
• Maersk Logistics & Services: Integrated ocean carrier and logistics provider offering end-to-end ocean, inland, customs, and warehousing services — competes on Africa-Europe corridors where SOGENA operates, with substantially greater scale and direct vessel access.
• Expeditors International: Global asset-light freight forwarder focused on ocean and air forwarding with strong technology platform; competes for the same enterprise forwarding opportunities though less specialized in African inland operations.
• Kuehne+Nagel: One of the world's largest ocean freight forwarders with global multimodal capabilities and growing African presence; competes for the same enterprise forwarding contracts that SOGENA targets from Le Havre and Abidjan.
• DHL Global Forwarding: Global ocean and air freight forwarder with substantial African operations and integrated customs/warehousing — comparable multimodal offering but with significantly broader network, larger fleet, and digital customer platforms.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sogena-international

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SOGENA INTERNATIONAL