Mohamed Diop: 'Africa's Logistics Must Create Fluid, Digital, and Integrated Corridors'

The African continent stands at a crossroads. As global supply chains reconfigure under the weight of geopolitical tensions, Africa must forge its own logistical answer. This was the message from Mohamed Diop, Deputy CEO for Africa at Africa Global Logistics (AGL), speaking at the 2026 Africa CEO Forum. For him, the continent's competitiveness will not come from isolated ultra-modern ports, but from fluid, digital, and integrated corridors. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is underway, but its success hinges on infrastructure that, today, struggles to keep pace. Goods still take too long to cross borders, logistics costs remain prohibitive, and river transport remains largely untapped. Diop is blunt: 'We must move from a logistics of points to a logistics of flows.' The potential of inland waterways is immense. The Congo River, the Niger, the Senegal—these natural arteries could relieve road congestion and reduce the carbon footprint of transport. But this requires investment, political will, and regional coordination that has so far been lacking. AGL, with its pan-African network, positions itself as a key player in this transformation. The other urgency is digital. 'A smart corridor is one where every container is tracked, customs are paperless, and data moves faster than trucks,' Diop explains. Digitizing procedures could cut transit times by 30 to 40%, a decisive leap for intra-African trade. But beyond technology, it's a matter of vision. Africa can no lo