For a low-income, landlocked country like Rwanda, exports have always been an issue. The two nearest gateway seaports – Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania, and Mombasa in Kenya – are roughly 1,700km away.

Before DP World's new logistics facilities in Kigali opened in Rwanda, there was scarcity of proper warehouses and container space, so trucks would often stand on the road for up to two weeks after arriving in the capital, waiting to offload their cargo. This resulted in cost implications and delays throughout the whole supply chain. The Truck detention fees amounted to $150-$200 a day: unplanned costs like this had a devastating impact on traders, who would make a loss due to high logistics cost and ruin client relationships.

Of course, the strongest cold chain in the world won’t mean a thing if it’s unaffordable. It’s a point Bhardwaj is keen to underline, “At DP World, our philosophy is ‘if you grow, we grow.’” That means bringing the cost of logistics down to make it accessible for as many people as possible.

Thanks to the new Kigali facility, the entire logistics process is streamlined and managed end-to-end. Goods arrive for forwarding within 2-3 days, eliminating those fortnight-long delays and devastating truck detention fees. And the logistics hub features many innovations designed to improve cost efficiency.

One of these is Africa’s first Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) electric forklift and racking systems that increases warehouse capacity fourfold. Digital operating systems connect importers and exporters directly with freight-forwarders and shipping lines, cutting out expensive third-party agents. And an integrated Terminal Operation System directly connects DP World’s warehousing with banking and customs, dramatically improving administrative efficiency.

Those savings are passed on to traders, freeing resources to re-invest. The hope, says Bhardwaj, is that “their revenue will grow. GDP will grow. And we will see a steady growth in the Rwandan middle-class.”