logistics. Du Preez is CEO of South

Africa-based logistics business

Digistics. He first became involved

with GCCA Africa in recognition of

the power and value of collaborative

activity for the cold chain industry.

He explains:“ At that time, a lot of

the smaller temperature-controlled

logistics businesses were closing, and

as an industry we needed to find a

way to move forwards. GCCA offers a

channel for operators to come together

to educate the government on common

challenges, to share learnings in a tough

industry, and to find solutions together.

I wanted to be part of GCCA’ s mission,

and to have the chance to drive change

for the better for our industry.”

Matope, president of Kenya-based

cold storage and logistics business

BigCold, became involved with GCCA

Africa through his leadership in

developing and expanding cold chain

logistics in East Africa.

“ BigCold is the region ' s first cold

chain 3PL service provider, and I

recognised the need for wider industry

collaboration, best practices, and policy

advocacy. GCCA’ s priorities align with

BigCold’ s commitments, and I was keen

to contribute to industry discussions,

network with global peers, and play a

part in the efforts to address cold chain

challenges in Africa.”

For Matope, GCCA Africa’ s activities

in 2025 are crucial for the growth and

sustainability of cold chain businesses

in Africa, with a wider impact resonating

across the continent’ s economy, food

supply, healthcare, and the environment.

He explains:“ Through the GCCA

Africa network, cold chain businesses

can access critical resources, training

and technologies that help them

improve operations, expand capacity,

and stay competitive in a rapidly

evolving global market. Strengthening

the cold chain supports the growth

of regional trade and opens African

markets to international buyers, as well

as the temperature-controlled logistics

of vital pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and

medical supplies.

“ In Africa, where food security

remains a challenge,” he continues,

“ enhancing cold chain infrastructure

can help reduce post-harvest losses

and ensure that fresh, nutritious food

reaches consumers. And reducing food

waste has significant environmental

benefits, preventing the unnecessary

use of resources and reducing

greenhouse gas emissions associated

with food production and waste.

Throughout 2025 and beyond, GCCA

Africa is working to drive positive

change across the continent.”

Improving food security by enabling

the growth and efficiency of cold chain

operations is the fundamental basis for

GCCA’ s mission, according to Du Preez:

“ As much as 30 % of African produce

can end up as waste, which has major

food security implications. Temperaturecontrolled

storage and refrigerated

transportation can be transformational.

GCCA is working to bring into Africa

the benefits of the alliance’ s global

perspective and network, both through

action within the continent but also

linking up global trade, making sure

This year GCCA Africa will be increasing its focus

on generating data and insights that will help

GCCA members to make decisions for their own

businesses, looking across import and export, and at

national, continental and global levels

temperature-controlled food is moving safely around the world, and working to improve food security. Africa is seeing a great deal of change in populations, trading relationships and the economic environment, and GCCA is supporting the cold chain both to access the opportunities and to address the challenges that these changes create.” To maximise the positive impact of the Alliance’ s activities, the GCCA Africa Council is implementing a strategic plan for 2025. This plan is designed to support growth in Africa’ s cold chain industry with a strong focus on infrastructure enhancement, workforce capacity development and application of market intelligence.

“ This year GCCA Africa will be increasing its focus on generating data and insights that will help GCCA members to make decisions for their own businesses, looking across import and export, and at national, continental and global levels,” explains Du Preez.“ Our strategic plan for this year also includes a major focus on the development of the skills that Africa’ s temperaturecontrolled logistics needs, for today and for the future. As well as promoting the cold chain as a great career choice, we are looking to support more specialist skills and training through opportunities for GCCA members to share training sessions, and by seeking support from governments and regional authorities. We will also be exploring the exciting potential to bring the GCCA’ s worldrenowned Cold Chain Institute to Africa in the coming years.”

As well as helping to bridge the current cold chain training and skills gap, Matope highlights a number of further challenges that GCCA Africa’ s strategic plan will address:“ Several barriers continue to hinder Africa’ s cold chain expansion. Infrastructure and high capital costs make it difficult for businesses to scale operations, operators are also faced with energy constraints, and limited access to financing due to high investment costs and risk perceptions.

Newton Matope, vice chair of the GCCA Africa Advisory Council.

The strategic plan is focused on

overcoming these obstacles.”

“ The plan also includes action to

support the opportunities for cold

chain growth across Africa,” he adds,

“ including opportunities related to the

expanding demand for temperaturecontrolled

logistics, the expansion

of regional trade through the

African Continental Free Trade Area

( AfCFTA), an evolving retail landscape,

pharmaceutical and healthcare cold

chain expansion, and the adoption of

advanced cold chain technologies.

“ Take our industry’ s common

challenge of energy constraints as an

example,” adds Du Preez.“ Energy prices

continue to increase globally, we can

expect prices to stay high and keep

rising, and at the same time in Africa

we don’ t have the luxury of reliable,

continuous access to electricity. There

are approaches that help cold chain

operators manage these challenges.

At Digistics we have made major

investments into onsite solar energy

generation. We now utilise solar for

20 % of our energy consumption and

are making substantial cost savings as

a result. GCCA Africa’ s strategic plan

supports operators with challenges such

as this through providing guidance and

advice, seeking government policies

that facilitate and incentivise investment

in renewable energy generation on

cold storage sites, and creating a forum

where 3PLs can share knowledge and

experiences.”

Image by © Cold Link Africa