African Business Magazine in its May 2020 issue ranked the top 250 African companies. The listing captured various sectors in a ranking that is often dominated by companies in Media, Banking, Metals & Mining. As expected, companies from Africa’s leading economies of South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco took a lead in these rankings with Kenya’s Safaricom leading the Kenyan enterprises at position 10. The time is ripe for more and more African enterprises to tap into the opportunities within Africa and contribute to the continents growth and sharing with the rest of the world Africa’s resilience in spite of the challenges that have challenged our economies, threatened our peace and put to question our political choices.
Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote of Dangote Group said, “To build a successful business, you must start small and dream big. In the journey of entrepreneurship, tenacity of purpose is supreme”. This statement rings true for many of these African enterprises of excellence and gives credence to those that are in the journey of rising amidst the challenges of starting a company in Africa.
Siginon Group is an African enterprise whose cargo handling potential spans across the African continent. Siginon is celebrating 35 Years since its inception in 1985. The transport and logistics company started off as a small clearing & forwarding company in the Port City of Mombasa which soon expanded to acquire 3 trucks and engaged 4 employees. The rest as they say is history, today, Siginon Group has grown to offer a wide spectrum of logistics services with over 200 trucks and engages 500 staff in its operations in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania handling cargo across the globe. This indigenous Kenyan company prides itself in Powering Trade for their customers’ enterprise to succeed through offering world-class logistics services.
Siginon’ s corporate vision, “To Be A World-Class Logistics Company’ points to a company that is ambitious and endeavours to position itself not only as Africa’s leading logistics player but stretches further to cover the global scene. As African countries continue to be rich in supply of the world’s raw material, logistics companies that are well established, efficient, reliable and well networked within Africa and across the globe are better positioned to meet the growing supply chain demands.
Siginon Group’s humble beginnings tell of a company that started small yet bolstered by big dreams. In 1985, Siginon Group dared to venture into cargo logistics, a sector that was then defined as a multinational playing field. That notwithstanding, Siginon Group positioned itself to successfully compete for the customers hearts, mind and share of wallet with the global logistics ‘big boys.’ In spite of the entrepreneurial challenges faced while setting up, this African company focused on accessing and serving the cargo needs of regional and global markets at a time that many would have thrown in the towel and opted for other ‘safer’ sectors. Siginon’ s focus and determination to succeed has paid off and with it left an indelible mark in the logistics sector by satisfying customer needs as well as keeping tabs on global trends to benchmark and deliver world-class services consistently.
Today, Siginon prides itself in its expertise as a global logistics solutions partner for cargo that needs to be shipped by air, sea, road or rail and providing all the intermediary cargo services such as; warehousing, container freight station, ground handling, customs clearance and distribution. Supported by Kenya’s strategic location in the East Africa region, Siginon has played a major role in regional trade by handling cargo to and from Kenya’s key entry points at the Port of Mombasa and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Nairobi.
Siginon Group has supported the trade and development of African economies by offering logistics services to support national and regional programs such as; roads and infrastructure projects, delivering humanitarian relief to much needed communities in the region, supporting establishment of key manufacturing plants, aviation, hospitality and supporting government delivery in national projects such as distribution of vaccines, examinations and ballot papers, oil and gas as well as horticultural and tea exports.
Africa’s latent potential is seen in unlocking barriers hindering Intra Africa trade. The launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) that brings together 55 member states of the African Union covering a market of more than 1.2 billion people, including a growing middle class, and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$3.4 trillion. AfCFTA has the potential of boosting intra-African trade by 52.3 percent by eliminating import duties, and doubling trade by reduction of non-tariff barriers. No one knows Africa better than a stable, sound well entrenched African company like Siginon.
All indications are that now is the time for African enterprises to play a role in making the African continent to shine even brighter. The opportunities for trade within Africa are limitless, with enablers of trade such as logistics companies playing a major role in ensuring there is efficient cargo movement from the source to consumer markets in Africa. The sky is the limit.
Let’s encourage and celebrate all African enterprises that weather the storms, stand the test of time to unlock opportunities within Africa’s treasure trove for it is through them that Africa rises.
