Africa Shipping Logistics

What Africa Shipping Logistics does

Africa Shipping Logistics is a Netherlands-headquartered freight forwarding and logistics company founded in 2011, specializing in trade between Europe (principally the Netherlands and Belgium) and African markets. Its service portfolio covers freight forwarding (sea and air), project cargo handling, pharmaceutical logistics under GDP compliance, customs clearance, ships agency, and CTN/BESC waiver certificates. Operationally, the company runs from a Rotterdam head office supplemented by regional offices in 10+ African countries, with stated coverage of 30+ African nations — a footprint that implies locally-embedded agent relationships rather than asset-heavy infrastructure. The underlying business is procedural and relationship-driven: shipment booking, customs documentation, regulatory certificate issuance, and coordination of vessels and cargo, with no disclosed proprietary digital platform or technology stack.

The company's revenue mechanics are service-fee-based: margins are earned on freight forwarding commissions, project cargo handling fees, customs clearance charges, and value-added services such as pharmaceutical GDP-compliant transport and waiver certificate processing. It does not own or charter vessels, does not operate warehouses at disclosed scale, and does not appear to pursue subscription or SaaS pricing. Customer segmentation spans four named buckets — NGOs, government entities, private businesses, and pharmaceutical companies — suggesting a diversified institutional client base rather than reliance on a single anchor account or segment.

Regulatory credentials form a central part of the company's positioning: Dutch Customs authorization, GDP certification for pharma, EORI registration for EU customs, and CTN/BESC processing for pre-arrival cargo documentation in African ports. These certifications, combined with 13+ years of operational history, constitute the principal defensible assets of the business. No funding rounds, acquisitions, leadership changes, headcount figures, or financial disclosures are available, leaving visibility into scale, growth, and capital structure materially limited. Overall, the company profiles as a niche, operationally-experienced specialized forwarder competing on regulatory access and African geographic reach rather than on technology differentiation or scale.

Name

Africa Shipping Logistics

Legal name

Africa Shipping Logistics

Website

https://africashippinglogistics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Africa Shipping Logistics is a Rotterdam-headquartered freight forwarder founded in 2011, specializing in Europe-to-Africa trade across freight forwarding, project cargo, pharmaceutical logistics, customs clearance, and ships agency services for NGOs, governments, private businesses, and pharma clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Freight Forwarding and Logistics Services

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510), Freight Transportation Arrangement (4885)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Ocean Export Forwarding (Booking/VGM/SI/BL) (TLACABAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ocean Import Forwarding (Destination Handling/DO/ISF) (TLACABAE), Customs Brokerage for Ocean Shipments (Import/Export Clearance) (TLACABAG), Export/Import Documentation Preparation (Commercial Invoice, Packing List, Shipper’s Letter of Instruction) (TLACAHAD), Trade Compliance & Ocean Regulatory Services (Sanctions/Export Controls) (TLACABAL)

Keywords

• Freight forwarding services
• Door-to-door logistics
• Customs clearance
• Project cargo handling
• Ships agency services

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Freight Forwarding Services: Core revenue from sea, air, and land freight logistics services with door-to-door delivery capabilities across Africa. Charges based on cargo volume, transport mode, and destination.
2. Ships Agency Services: Port agency and husbandry services across African ports of call, including crew changes, bunkering arrangements, provisions supply, and customs clearance for vessels.
3. Customs Clearance Services: Dutch Customs certified declaration and clearance services for import/export cargo shipments to European market, Africa, and other destinations. Registered Economic Operator with EORI number.
4. Project Cargo and Heavy Lifts: Specialized handling of oversized and heavy cargo for government infrastructure, construction, and energy projects across Africa. End-to-end project management from route surveys to final delivery.
5. Pharmaceutical Logistics: Temperature-controlled cold chain logistics for pharmaceuticals under GDP guidelines, including FDA, EUDA, and WHO compliance. Real-time GPS tracking and 24/7 monitoring.
6. Waiver Certificate Services (CTN/BESC/FERI/ASHI): Authorized agent issuing ECTN/BESC/CTN/FERI/ASHI certificates for African cargo destinations including Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa Rep, Chad, Congo Republic, DRC, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Africa Shipping Logistics is a freight forwarder that provides integrated door-to-door shipping and logistics services between Europe and Africa, covering sea, air, and land transport. The company coordinates export and import cargo handling, customs clearance, project cargo and heavy lifts, ships agency services at African ports, GDP-compliant pharmaceutical cold chain logistics, and issuance of ECTN/BESC/CTN/FERI/ASHI waiver certificates. Its core customer promise is end-to-end shipment coordination across 30+ African countries with on-the-ground regional offices.

Product overview

Africa Shipping Logistics operates as a full-service freight forwarding and logistics company offering integrated shipping solutions across 30+ African nations. The core offering is a Door-to-Door Logistics service that unifies Export Cargo Handling, Import Cargo Handling, Customs Clearance, and Container Solutions under one umbrella. Specialized services include Pharmaceutical Logistics (GDP/FDA/WHO compliant cold chain), Project Cargo & Heavy Lifts for oversized cargo, Ships Agency Services across African ports, and Waiver Certificate facilitation (CTN/BESC/FERI/ASHI). The company operates from a head office in Rotterdam with regional offices across East, West, Central, and Southern Africa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Export Cargo Handling
• Import Cargo Handling
• Project Cargo & Heavy Lifts
• Customs Clearance / Douane
• Waiver Certificates (CTN/BESC/FERI/ASHI)
• Pharmaceutical Logistics
• Container Solutions
• Ships Agency Services
• Door-to-Door Logistics

Quantifiable outcome

• Transit times of 36 to 65 days for import cargo working with reliable shipping lines
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Global and Regional Carrier PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAfrica Shipping Logistics works with carefully selected, well-known global and regional carriers enabling best-in-class shipping solutions. These partnerships provide access to reliable, efficient, and flexible transport networks ensuring competitive rates, efficient transit times, end-to-end shipment visibility, and consistent dependable performance.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• DSV: Global transport and logistics company with significant African coverage offering air, sea, and road freight forwarding; directly comparable service mix and enterprise customer overlap.
• DHL Global Forwarding: World's largest freight forwarder with extensive Africa operations across ocean, air, and customs; directly competes for the same enterprise, NGO, and government accounts that Africa Shipping Logistics targets, but with much broader global scale.
• Panalpina (now part of DSV): Historically a top-tier Swiss forwarder with strong emerging-markets footprint including Africa; now under DSV, still relevant as a benchmark for Africa project cargo and perishables forwarding.
• CEVA Logistics: Global supply chain operator with Africa footprint across contract logistics and freight management; comparable in offering multimodal forwarding and customs, with deeper technology stack.
• Maersk Logistics & Services: Integrated ocean carrier and logistics provider with strong Africa trade lanes and end-to-end supply chain services; competes for door-to-door contracts and offers scale advantages Africa Shipping Logistics cannot match.
• Kuehne+Nagel: Top-tier global forwarder with strong presence in Africa providing sea, air, and integrated logistics; competes with Africa Shipping Logistics on customs clearance and project cargo, especially for European shippers.
• Expeditors International: Asset-light global forwarder focused on ocean and air freight with customs brokerage; competes on similar enterprise customer base with a more mature technology platform.

Direct peers

• Bolloré Logistics: Africa-specialist forwarder with deep roots in West and Central Africa through its historical port concessions and logistics network; the closest direct competitor in landlocked-country and francophone Africa logistics.
• Rohlig Logistics: Mid-sized German-headquartered forwarder with comparable European roots and Africa trade-lane focus; offers similar sea/air freight forwarding, customs, and project cargo capabilities to mid-market shippers.

Regional players

• Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) Africa Logistics: Asian shipping group with African feeder services and logistics coordination; relevant peer for ocean freight to/from East Africa and acts as one of the underlying carrier partners to which Africa Shipping Logistics aggregates cargo.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/africa-shipping-logistics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Africa Shipping Logistics