Hapag-Lloyd has opened a new office in Kenya as it continues to pursue growth in Africa.

The shipping company said while the main business will be managed from the port city of Mombasa, the company will also have an office in Nairobi, the country’s capital.

The new office will be headed by Country Manager Prashant Sindhwani. While 19 staff members will work in Mombasa, 6 will be based in Nairobi and 1 in Uganda.

In a statement, the shipper said it mainly transports agricultural goods out of Kenya, especially tea, coffee, fruits and textiles. The imports primarily consist of chemicals, foodstuffs and a wide range of goods made of plastic or rubber.

Through its gateway port of Mombasa, Hapag-Lloyd said it offers two different services.

Kenya focus on Africa growth strategy

While the China Kenya Express Service (CKX) connects Kenya with some of the most important ports in Asia, such as Singapore and Shanghai, the East Africa Service (EAS2) connects the East African country with the west coast of India and Jebel Ali in Dubai.

“Kenya is the economic hub of East Africa and the most important growth region on the continent,” says Dheeraj Bhatia, senior managing Director Region Middle East at Hapag-Lloyd.

“By opening our new office in Kenya, we expect to continue our robust growth on the African continent.”

Hapag-Lloyd also serves landlocked East African countries – such as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan – with regular inland connections to and from Mombasa. As part of its growth strategy, the shipping company will endeavour to develop inland connections to Somalia, Southern Ethiopia and Northern Tanzania.

Rolf Habben Jansen, chief executive officer at Hapag-Lloyd said the company's “strategy 2023 focuses not only on becoming the “Number One for Quality”, but also on selected growth markets worldwide” — adding that “we see enormous growth potential in Africa and will further invest into our services and selected countries.”

With the opening of the new office in Kenya, Hapag-Lloyd now has five own offices on the continent in South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya. Additionally, Hapag-Lloyd recently opened its Quality Service Center in Mauritius.