Month: November 2022

Leo’s professional journey started as an intern in investment banking while studying at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA).

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics (major in Economic policy and Development) and a minor in Finance.

While working for the investment banking department of Alpha Bank, a major commercial bank in his home country, Greece, Leo was first introduced to financial modeling and was offered an analyst position at the Real Estate Investment & Public-Private Partnership subdivision. After successfully creating a portfolio valuation and risk analysis model that was later developed as a general appraisal model, it offered valuable information to management for investment decisions.

Leo’s experience working in investment banking was crucial for developing his skill set and obtaining a better grasp with experience of the practical side of business and helping him build an analytical mindset and framework.

Leo was then appointed by a well known eyewear manufacturing and distribution company where he developed proprietary tools for efficient reporting, order processing and inventory management thus enhancing his operational management skills. Becoming more involved with clients and through identifying their problems, wants and needs, Leo was able to help deliver better services through superior customer experience and communication.

The next step in his career was in Account Management and Sales for a large food processing equipment and consumables company, being responsible for further developing the business in Greece and negotiating new contracts with clients abroad, getting him valuable experience in exports.

Over the past 2 years, Leo has found and managed a private consulting office that mainly advises in export strategy and assists export development in the Greek food manufacturing industry, analyzing key markets and identifying new clients, developing go-to-market strategies, conceptualizing new product lines and market-specific offers, creating new competitive concept proposals and negotiating contracts.

During this time, he was appointed by a pastry manufacturing company as General Manager, successfully applying operational efficiency and lean management principles.

The adversities that a new business has to overcome and the lack of resources has helped Leo develop resilience, resourcefulness, and an optimistic attitude. Having to create his own website, build web applications for client needs and develop tools to analyze business data, has allowed him to overcome limitations beyond the confines of his studies and his previous work experience.

Working with market leaders in their respective industries, Leo has collaborated with experienced cross-functional teams, including marketing, sales, product development, and manufacturing. Working with people from different markets on various projects aligns with his personality and interests and has helped him acquire specific problem-solving skills regarding business while further enhancing his business development, communication, and collaboration skills.

Kenya office bolsters East Africa presence

Ongoing investment in infrastructure development to support economic growth and global trade, along with growing regional cooperation between African countries to promote common trade policies, will bolster demand for reliable and seamless logistics solutions from the world into Africa.

According to Jade Da Costa, Africa CEO of Aero Africa, an overall increase in demand is already evident.

With this in mind, the company has invested heavily in its new regional office in Nairobi, Kenya, which is strategically located at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

“It positions us to serve our customer better – with neutral airfreight import consolidations from the world to East Africa,” says Absolom Ngari, general manager for East Africa. “ This office looks after the group’s interests in the region, operating as a control tower and centralised service centre in East Africa for our overseas partners and clients. It also focuses on promoting our digital airfreight portal, developing blocked space agreements (BSA) scheduled consolidations from the USA, Asia and Europe to East Africa.

According to Da Costa, Africa offers the highest return on investment of any emerging market at present. “This is due to several reasons: competition is less fierce, there are few foreign companies present, and consumer demand is strong.”

He says with the African continent’s accelerated economic growth, and the corresponding increase in logistics activities from direct trade with the Far East and the rest of the world, it has become critical to provide the logistics and aviation sectors with a tailor-made, simplified neutral air cargo solution, supported by a secure financial transacting platform through which to conduct air cargo business with Africa.

“Companies are looking for high visibility of their supply chains – and the reduction of parties not only gives them control over the process, but increases the visibility of the procurement process all the way to delivery. It is about end-to-end solutions,” he explains.

According to Ngari, there are several positive developments on the continent – including the modernisation of airports, seaports and airlines among others.

Airline investments a top priority

“African airline investments are a top priority, with Ethiopian Airlines and Astral Aviation topping the list. We are also seeing regional integration efforts, and harmonisation/reduction of cross-border tariffs and barriers, resulting in predictable trade environments.”

Da Costa agrees, saying market liberalisation efforts and initiatives to reduce trade imbalances between countries have to be commended.

“In this environment, relationships are crucial. The focus is on people rather than the actual transaction on the table. Having a good network of the right partners is an asset to any business, especially in the supply chain.”

The airfreight sector, however, is not without challenges. “Global supply chain constraints and interruptions, for example, the loss of capacity due to the war in Ukraine, continue to impact local operations,” says Da Costa.

“Economic uncertainties have a substantial impact on demand for air cargo, and foreign exchange is still problematic.”

Despite the ongoing investment in infrastructure, it still does pose some challenges in several African countries, resulting in increased costs.

Fluctuating fuel prices a concern

“Cross-border limitations due to tariffs and other political factors or diplomatic differences can also play a role,” says Ngari. “Of course, global fuel price fluctuations, which impact on operating profits of the operation and market airfreight rates continue to be a concern.” Despite the challenges, Africa’s airfreight and logistics market is in expansion mode as it emerges from the pandemic, and it is attracting significant investment.

According to the 2021 Airbus Global Market Forecast (GMF), the projected growth in the continent’s economy will push up air traffic to achieve a full recovery to 2019 levels between late 2023 and early 2025. The strong recovery is attributed to “the fundamental drivers of traffic demand remaining unchanged: economic growth faster than the world average, young and growing population, urbanisation, and middle-class development”.

Aero Africa – ACOC Golf Day

Aero Africa – Sub Saharan Africa was proud to host and sponsor two four-balls, and a T-box at the Air Cargo Operators Committee (ACOC) Golf Day that took place on the 4^th November 2022, at the Benoni Country Club, Johannesburg, South Africa.

The golf day had a rough start due to the weather we had, after the initial date had to be postponed due to the rainy weather however, a week later we were all ready for the long-awaited day of golf.

The Air Cargo Committee is committed to advancing the industry’s understanding and knowledge of air cargo economics and practices. Its focus is to assist airport operators in the management of existing air cargo resources, maximization of potential air cargo opportunities and the enhancement of air cargo revenues, in addition to providing a forum to discuss cargo-related security issues and developing concerns in the air cargo industry.

This year, the ACOC golf day managed to raise over a whopping R40 000.00 for the nominated charity:

All Hearts Foundation https://www.allheartsfoundation.co.za/.

Aero Africa is so thrilled to have contributed towards this wonderful charity.

Representing Aero Africa on the golf course was Gay Tobias: Director – Operations Southern Africa and Jarryd Niescior: Regional Operations Manager, and our stand was managed and represented by Raj Reddy: Manager – Charter Operations, Vicky Papageorgiou: Client Relations & Marketing Manager and Samantha Pyper: Operations Administrator.

Aero Africa Mashariki Cargo Solutions Ltd is pleased to announce the appointment of Lucy Njoki as Admin & Operations Manager, Kenya. Lucy will be responsible for the assisting the GM in running of the operations, finance, compliance, and other administrative activities in Kenya, for the East Africa Control Tower for Aero Africa.

Lucy started her career in logistics in 2012. She is a skilled air cargo management professional with core experience in commercial management, operations management and coordination, business administration, client service management, pricing, and finance management.

Before her appointment, Lucy worked with Polygon Logistics Ltd, growing from an intern in the accounting department, to an account assistant, a supply executive and to an export manager, a position she held from 2016 up to September 2022.

Lucy holds an MBA, Finance from The University of Nairobi and a bachelors’ degree in Business Management, finance, and banking option, from Moi University. She also holds various training and certifications in the air freight industry.

Lucy is very passionate about customer service; she’s delighted to see a satisfied and happy customer coming.

EX WORKS EUROPE OR FCA AMS – NAIROBI, KENIA