DHL said it is continuing to significantly invest in Sub-Saharan Africa. DHL Express, which operates across 51 countries and territories in the region, has a planned investment in excess of EUR 17 million (U.S. $19 million) in 2015. Major projects underway include upgrades to facilities and shipment handling systems throughout the region, according to the company.

In October 2014, DHL announced investments totaling EUR 30.5 million (U.S. $34.2 million) in South Africa, by both its Supply Chain (EUR 14.5 million investment) and Global Forwarding divisions (EUR 16 million investment). These commitments signal the Group’s long-term growth plans for the region as they bring state-of-the-art infrastructure, IT systems and world-class services to support businesses operating in Africa.

For DHL Global Forwarding, the leading provider of air, ocean, and road freight services, the EUR 16 million facility, located at the Plumbago Business Park boasts 12,000 square meters of warehouse space and 5,500 square meters of office space, according to the company.

With a EUR 14.5 million (U.S. $16.26 million) investment, DHL Supply Chain’s 25,000 square-meter multi-user warehouse facility caters to its technology client portfolio, as well as some key fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) clients, according to the company.

Frank Appel, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Post DHL Group, visited South Africa and Nigeria recently. The visit demonstrated the overall importance of emerging markets in the Group’s Strategy 2020: Focus.Connect.Grow., and in specific the encouraging development of Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the company.

During his stay in South Africa and Nigeria, Appel met with employees and customers, and visited several logistics facilities.

Affirming the Group’s focus on emerging markets, Appel said, “today, emerging market revenues contribute over 20 percent to Deutsche Post DHL Group’s revenues, but by 2020 the Group expects this figure to climb to 30 percent. Therefore, we will continue to concentrate on organic growth by investing into promising present and future markets. DHL already has a strong footprint in Africa, but we see some excellent opportunities to further increase our presence in the Sub-Saharan region. South Africa’s exceptional geographic location as the gateway to Africa, and Nigeria’s growing gross domestic product (GDP) and diversifying markets are only two of the many important indicators for this.”