The Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics (ESL) eyes local and international breakthrough as a new strategy is under works to expand its operation on new verticals. With the logistics enterprise in recent weeks having welcomed new leadership at the helm, the new boss has promised to keep the growth trajectory and staff handling as they were.

Berisso Amallo who is the incumbent CEO of ESL, replacing the long serving logistics guru Roba Megersa, said that the enterprise is currently carrying out a strategic plan that will specify the public enterprise’s growth in the coming years.
“We are on the way to accomplish the strategic plan that was designed years back. We are now designing a new map that will define our future path,” he stated during his first press conference as a CEO of ESL, the sole flag carrier in the continent and multimodal monopoly in Ethiopia.
“We are now concluding a new strategic plan. When it is approved and comes to effect, we will have wide operations than the current status,” Berisso said, adding, “Our route will expand to Europe, middle and eastern gulf countries, India and other destinations.”
Expanding technology based services and expanding owned vessels are also strategies that ESL targets to deploy in the near future.
According to Wondwossen Kassa (Cap), Deputy CEO of ESL, the coming of new vessels will allow ESL to expand its operation and will be pivotal to its strategy going forward.
“With these new big size vessels, we shall have voyage to new routes like Europe, Australia and other continents besides the existed lines we operate,” he added concurring with the CEO’s statements.
As Wondwossen further elaborates, the details of the new strategy, which is currently concluded, will be disclosed when it receives approval from the board of directors. Nonetheless, he pointed out that the strategy targets to increase accessibility and considers changing the sector to attain big goals as a more profitable enterprise, “Our area, Indian Gulf and East African Coast has a gap on container feeder service, so if we invest more and increase our container ownership in terms of type, number and size we shall tap this huge benefit. If Djibouti’s SGTD, a container terminal, make minor adjustments at its facility we shall also expand our operation jointly with the partnership of Djibouti port operator as a feeder hub in the region.”
“We believe that our bulk vessels should work in destinations like America, Europe and Australia, so we are working to meet this vision,” Wondwossen added.
Siraj Abdulahi, Deputy CEO for Maritime Service at ESL, said that in the budget year that started July 2022, the operation has expanded in different ports of the region, “We are currently fully serving the Somaliland population through Berbera Port.”
Regarding capacity building and expanding skilled labour, ESL has also projected to expand its verticals on that front.
The CEO similarly highlighted that in terms of skilled labour, ESL academies will have big stake in the success of capacity building.
As Berisso explains, the aftermath of COVID 19 and Russia-Ukraine conflict has continued to be a bad repercussion for the sector and has likewise affected ESL’s business much like other actors affected globally.
Even though there are serious challenges on the sector, the CEO said that in the first nine months of the 2022/23 budget year, the enterprise has handled the operation of over 4.13 million tons that is 101 percent of the target.
Berisso said that in the stated period, ESL targeted to generate close to 35 billion birr as revenue, while the actual achievement clocked in at almost 31 billion birr or 88.3 percent of the target.
“Regarding profit before tax, the enterprise has secured over 4 billion birr that is 108 percent of the target,” he added.
The CEO said that his leadership style will be inclusive. He said that he has met with staff about the operation in the enterprise and the next forward moving journey, “We will exercise a modern leadership style that is aligned with the 21st century and as per the government strategy.”
He hinted that the new structural change will be based on educational readiness and experience, to steer the logistics enterprise to newer heights.