AIR CARGO
AFRICA 2019
Advocating Africa
Africa’s biggest cargo event returns this year – with a focus on transformation.
Africa’s three-day cargo
event returns to the
Casino Convention
Resort, Emperors Palace, in
Johannesburg, on February
19-21 this year. Launched
in 2011, the fi fth edition of
the biennial event sees the
ownership change hands
from the Stat Times to Messe
Munchen, with liberalisation
and modernisation the chosen
themes of 2019. Aiming
to strengthen networking
corridors with the African
continent, the event will
bring together the global air
cargo community – united
by the common objective to
push frontiers of excellence in
African airfreight.
Panels and forums
On the agenda for day
one is a panel discussion
surrounding the core themes
of liberalisation and
modernisation. Panellists
will aim to answer
whether Africa can or
should be – or indeed
already is – the next
hotspot for airfreight,
contemplating the
uncertainty over the
Yamoussoukro Declaration
1988, alongside more
encouraging developments
like the Single African Air
Transport Market project by
counterproductive to
globalisation, which is a
serious impediment to the air
cargo sector. However, one
region’s challenge is another’s
opportunity: how can the
air cargo industry innovate
to turn the headwinds into
tailwinds? Answers to this
will be sought in this session,
before afternoon shipper
forums on e-commerce by
Liège airport, and another
focusing on pharma.
On Day Three, two fi nal
panel discussions will be
hosted, deliberating the vast
potential of cross-border
shipments and the role of
unmanned aerial vehicles in
last mile delivery, as well as
a session exploring growing
opportunities in China, with
investments such as the Belt
and Road initiative.
Valuable event
With vast coverage
of topics, a host
of top executives
billed to speak and
around 80 exhibitors
expected, this year’s
African event is
the ideal platform
for important
networking, valuable
discussion – and
for getting the ball
rolling on helping
this promising
market realise its
full potential.
the African Union and the Continental Free Trade Area, which are
strong indicators that Africa is moving in the right direction. The
panel will discuss the continent’s ability to leapfrog in terms of
technology adoption and rapid industrialisation, in order to catch
up with more developed markets around the globe.
Two air shipper forums will also be hosted on the fi rst day: an
automotive air shipper forum hosted by Frankfurt airport and a
fl ower air shipper forum hosted by Saudia Cargo.
Promise and problems
More panels and forums will follow on day two. A morning
panel entitled ‘from digitisation to digitalisation’ will debate air
cargo in the digital era, looking beyond the physical-to-digital
conversion of air cargo processes and to the opportunities ahead:
the potential to foster a culture of convenience, offering speed
and on-demand services to stakeholders in the air cargo industry;
to create digital airfreight corridors that seamlessly connect
markets; to enable end-to-end tracking and tracing of shipments;
and to leverage the latest innovative tools like Internet of Things,
artifi cial intelligence, robotics and blockchain to enhance the
value proposition of air cargo.
A separate panel will discuss all-important trade barriers
and populist agendas, contemplating the headwinds and
tailwinds for air cargo industry. Trade barriers, sanctions
and tariff impositions are bad for free trade and
Potential a-plenty in Africa: the 2019
cargo event aims to build on this
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