Hapag-Lloyd expands presence in East Africa with new office in Kampala

UGANDA – Hapag-Lloyd, a German international shipping and container transportation company, has launched a new office in the city of Kampala, the capital of Uganda, positioning itself as an excellent connection region to five neighboring countries in East and Central Africa.

Uganda is a landlocked country with no direct access to the sea; it relies on neighboring ports, such as Mombasa in Kenya and Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania, to facilitate its international trade.

The Port of Mombasa handled approximately 200,000 TEU of exports in 2023, with 22% of the volume originating from Uganda, demonstrating the country’s significant role in the region’s trade flows. Most of the cargo between Uganda and the ports is transported by trucks.

Hapag-Lloyd stated that the country, with its population of around 50 million, has become an attractive market on the African continent. It is estimated that the Ugandan economy is on the rise with a GDP growth of 5.9% in 2024.

Apart from exporting its own commodities, Uganda serves as a business hub for packaging and consolidating a diverse range of commodities that move throughout the region.

Key exports passing through Uganda include timber and dry hides from South Sudan, cocoa, minerals, and timber from the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as coffee from Rwanda.

These flows, according to the freighter, highlight Uganda’s growing impact on East African exports and its potential for facilitating trade across borders.

“Uganda plays a vital role in the export landscape of Africa and continues to see economic growth,” said Lars Sorensen, Senior Managing Director Region Middle East at Hapag-Lloyd.

“Opening our office in Kampala is part of our long-term strategy to establish an early presence in emerging markets with high potential.”

He added that Kampala’s new hub will strengthen the position of Hapag-Lloyd in the African market, improve service delivery, and better meet the needs of customers both in Uganda and in neighboring regions.

Hapag-Lloyd is the 5th biggest liner shipping company in the world with a fleet of 292 modern container ships and says it has a total transport capacity of 2.3 million TEU.

In the Terminal & Infrastructure segment, Hapag-Lloyd has equity stakes in 20 terminals in Europe, Latin America, the United States, India, and North Africa.

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