By Shruti Menon Seeboo
When the 6th India-Africa Entrepreneurship & Investment Summit convenes in Cape Town from 13 to 15 July, logistics will sit at the heart of one of its most practical and pressing conversations. For trade between India and Africa to move beyond aspiration and into execution, the physical and digital infrastructure that moves goods across borders must be as sophisticated as the business relationships it serves. Few people understand that challenge more acutely than Venessa Dewing, Vice President of Sales at DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa. A seasoned logistics professional who has progressed through a series of senior roles within DHL — from Business Development Manager and Regional Manager through to Head of Core Sales for Sub-Saharan Africa — Dewing leads the regional sales strategy for one of the world’s most extensive express delivery networks, supporting businesses of all sizes as they navigate Africa’s evolving and complex trade landscape. She will join the Summit as a keynote speaker, bringing with her a perspective that is equal parts data-driven and deeply operational.
For Dewing, the starting point is a fundamental truth about the relationship between digital commerce and physical logistics. “Digital and physical trade are now fully interconnected, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses,” she says. “DHL’s role is to simplify complexity and make cross-border trade executable, not just accessible.” Through DHL’s GoTrade initiative, she explains, the company supports entrepreneurs across the full journey of domestic and international trade. “This includes building digital and e-commerce capability, improving understanding of customs and trade processes, and providing practical logistics knowledge so businesses can move from online demand to effective cross-border delivery,” she says. Equally important, she argues, is digital readiness. “As trade becomes more data-enabled, access to the right tools, data and platforms is just as important as physical infrastructure,” she says. “GoTrade addresses this by combining training, market insights and hands-on support to build real capability.”
On the relationship between reliable logistics and job creation, Dewing is precise about the mechanism. “Reliable logistics infrastructure is what turns trade from potential into reality,” she says. “It is not just about moving goods. It is about making trade predictable, repeatable and scalable.” For SMEs in particular, she argues, the barrier is rarely demand. “If you cannot move goods reliably, clear customs efficiently or meet delivery timelines, you cannot compete internationally,” she says. “Strong logistics networks solve that by giving businesses the confidence to enter new markets and fulfil orders consistently.” The downstream effects, she adds, are significant. “As soon as businesses can trade reliably, they start to scale. That creates demand across the value chain, from manufacturing through to warehousing, transport and last-mile delivery. Jobs are not only created within logistics itself, but across the broader economy that trade enables.” She also makes the case for logistics as a source of economic resilience. “Strong logistics networks also strengthen resilience,” she says. “They allow economies to stay connected during disruption and recover faster by keeping supply chains moving. That stability is critical for sustained investment and long-term employment growth.”
On the structural barriers that continue to constrain India-Africa trade, Dewing is candid. “Key barriers remain largely structural,” she says. “These include infrastructure gaps such as poor road and rail networks, port congestion and inconsistent power supply in parts of Africa.” Non-tariff barriers add a further layer of complexity, as do the practical difficulties many SMEs face when attempting to execute cross-border trade. DHL’s response, she explains, combines long-term investment with practical enablement. “This includes expanding logistics infrastructure, strengthening transport and distribution networks, and working with public and private sector partners to improve trade corridors,” she says. “In parallel, programmes like GoTrade focus on capability building, helping businesses understand and navigate these complexities so they can participate more effectively in international markets.”
On the question of balancing decarbonisation with expanding logistics access in challenging markets, Dewing is clear that sustainability is not a trade-off but an integrated design principle. “DHL’s approach is to integrate sustainability into how logistics networks are designed and operated, rather than treating it as a separate objective,” she says. Network efficiency, she explains, is central to that effort. “Denser, more optimised transport networks reduce empty kilometres and improve fleet utilisation, which lowers emissions while also improving service reliability,” she says. Through DHL’s GoGreen Plus offering, customers can access reductions in lifecycle emissions from air transport via sustainable aviation fuel, using a book-and-claim model that works even in markets where SAF is not yet physically available. In Sub-Saharan Africa, she says, this global approach is complemented by local action. “We are investing in electric vehicles for last-mile delivery, piloting alternative-fuel transport, and developing energy-efficient and solar-powered facilities in key markets such as South Africa,” she says. “Investment in infrastructure, technology and sustainable fuels is designed to expand access to logistics services while reducing emissions at the same time.”
On which African markets are most ready for accelerated India-Africa trade, Dewing offers a precise regional read. “South Africa remains a key gateway market,” she says. “Its relatively advanced logistics infrastructure, scale and strong connectivity make it a natural entry point for India–Africa trade into the wider region.” East Africa, she argues, is particularly well positioned. “Markets like Kenya are seeing strong growth in sectors such as e-commerce, pharmaceuticals and perishables, combined with improving access to ports and air connectivity,” she says. “This makes them increasingly attractive for structured, high-frequency trade flows with India.” West Africa, and Nigeria in particular, also features strongly, driven by scale and growing consumer demand. Ultimately, she says, trade accelerates where three conditions converge. “Reliable connectivity, strong local demand, and the ability to move goods predictably across borders,” she says. “DHL’s focus is on strengthening those conditions through network investment and practical trade enablement, so that businesses can move from opportunity to actual trade.”
