Hapag-Lloyd, an African shipping company, has opened a new office in Kenya.

The new office, according a press release issued by the company, 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.

Dheeraj Bhatia, Senior Managing Director Region Middle East of Hapag-Lloyd, said “Kenya is the economic hub of East Africa and the most important growth region on the continent.

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

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Hapag-Lloyd, Rolf Habben Jansen, also disclosed that “Our Strategy 2023 focuses not only on becoming the “Number One for Quality”, but also on selected growth markets worldwide. We see an enormous growth potential in Africa and will further invest into our services and selected countries.”

In a congratulatory note, German Ambassador to Kenya Annett Günther states that she wishes Hapag-Lloyd all the best with their new presence in Kenya.

Günther wrote “Kenya as a regional and continental hub for trade relies on strong and efficient logistics service providers. Hapag-Lloyd has been serving the region for many years, so it is a logical step, and a good sign for the business community in Kenya, that they are now establishing a permanent presence in Mombasa and Nairobi.”

Hapag-Lloyd 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 the gateway port of Mombasa, the shipping company offers two different services. 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.

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

It is worthy of note that Hapag-Lloyd, with a fleet of 234 modern container ships and a total transport capacity of 1.7 million TEU, is one of the world's leading liner shipping companies.

The company has around 13,200 employees and 388 offices in 129 countries.

 It has a container capacity of approximately 2.7 million TEU – including one of the largest and most modern fleets of reefer containers. A total of 121 liner services worldwide ensure fast and reliable connections between more than 600 ports on all the continents.

Hapag-Lloyd is one of the leading operators in the Transatlantic, Middle East, Latin America and Intra-America trades.