Africa has seen the capacity of its ports grow significantly over the years, but a report from the Africa Finance Corporation says the expansions, upgrades and investments have not led to better inland logistics and supply chains.
Since 2005, African ports have received an estimated $15 billion in investments, allowing them to accommodate larger ships and offload more cargo for transportation across the continent.
According to the African Development Bank, port development has led to increased traffic. Between 2011 and 2021, container units passing through African ports increased by nearly 50%, from 24.5 million to 35.8 million.
Gabriel Sounouvou, a specialist in logistics and supply chain management based in Guinea, said port investments have multiple benefits, including better integration with the global supply chain and a reduction in corruption.
“We cannot modernize the port without technology integration,” Sounouvou said. “So ... when the government modernizes the port, they also create this transparency that reduces corruption."
However, according to the Africa Finance Corporation's 2024 report, “State of Africa's Infrastructure,” the increased capacity at ports has yet to lead to an efficient logistical supply chain across the continent.
The researchers say African governments have neglected road and railway networks, which are unevenly distributed, of poor quality and underused, which limits their usefulness.
Sounouvou said bad roads make it hard to do business in Africa, especially outside coastal areas.
"Many road corridors are not good for trucks,” Sounouvou said, adding that trucks "can spend more than 10 days instead of three in landlocked countries."
Jonas Aryee, head of Maritime Economics and International Trade Modules at Plymouth University in England, said human factors also make it difficult to transport goods across Africa.
"Some countries are still not opening up, and they're protecting their local industries from those of their fellow African countries,” Aryee said.
"You will find several roadblocks — from police, from customs, from gendarmes — in many countries when goods are going through,” he said. “And it's made the cost of doing business in Africa so high."
The Africa Finance Corporation study shows the continent has 680,000 kilometers of paved roads, just 10% of the total found in India, which has a similar population but one-tenth the land area.
Experts say the roads connecting countries in Africa have remained in bad shape because countries have not formed a joint team to invest in, build and manage highways that could improve the free flow of goods and people.
While road networks remain underdeveloped in many African countries, the AFC report said port investments are expected to continue, with several new terminals confirmed for development in countries such as Angola, Benin, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
