Arise, one of the leading pan-African infrastructure and logistics players, has launched a dedicated shipping company to provide services for the mining, agricultural and industrial sectors.
Arise Shipping and Logistics will primarily provide services that complement the operations of its parent company, Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms (Arise IIP), but it should also build its own portfolio of customers. Plans for the new unit include building up a fleet of bulk carriers, tankers and specialised vessels in addition to a range of associated logistics services.
“As many African countries develop their own processing and manufacturing capabilities to complement growing commodities exports, there is strong demand for a bespoke shipping and logistics company that understands Africa and its needs,” explained Captain Pappu Sastry, CEO of Arise Shipping and Logistics.
All of the company’s initial clients will be in the mining sector, which will be provided with “a full range of shipping and logistics services”. Sastry said this could be anything from land-side infrastructure, ports or transhipment and shipping. “The value addition will be the innovative off take or structural solutions that help junior mines grow and in turn help the local economies develop for long-term prosperity,” he added.
Arise IIP, a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi-incorporated Africa Transformation and Industrialization Fund (ATIF) and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), has grown from a single project in Gabon in 2010 to now delivering a wide range of industrial, infrastructure and port developments in seven countries across Africa. Arise’s ports and logistics unit has a portfolio of 3 port assets spread across Gabon and Ivory Coast.
