R4.6 Billion investment reflects DSV’s commitment to SA

From left to right: Brian Ejsing (DSV Group COO), Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs), Lerato Mataboge (Deputy Director General: SA DTIC), Anthony Diack (DSV SA Managing Director: Solutions - Healthcare)

Political and business leaders from Denmark – including Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Ambassador Elsebeth Søndergaard Krone – visited DSV South Africa’s flagship logistics centre north of Johannesburg this week.

DSV South Africa is a subsidiary of DSV A/S, which is listed on NASDAQ Copenhagen. DSV South Africa is Level 2 B-BBEE accredited.

The tour of DSV Park | Gauteng followed a meeting between Minister Rasmussen, officials from Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives from Danish companies operating in South Africa and officials from South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry & Competition, to discuss challenges and opportunities of doing business in South Africa.

Companies represented included APM Terminals, AVK Southern Africa, Coloplast South Africa, Danfoss, DI, FLSmidth, Kamstrup, Mærsk, Novo Nordisk, Scan Global Logistics and Vestas.

DSV’s delegation was led by Managing Director Anthony Diack, Group Chief Operating Officer Brian Ejsing, and other members of the South African Executive Committee.

The delegations discussed a range of issues affecting business in South Africa, focusing on opportunities to enhance Danish investment in the country. Diack said the purpose of the visit was to share with the Foreign Minister so he can engage with SA political structures. “It’s about getting our voice heard and showcasing our investment and commitment to SA”, Diack said.

Diack said DSV had invested R4.6 billion in logistics centres in Gauteng, Western Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal in the last three years, and this was complemented by another R150 million in “Green” investments and more than R49 million in learnerships, supporting black entrepreneurs and tertiary graduates.

“The investments demonstrated DSV’s commitment to South Africa, and faith that the country’s present challenges around energy and infrastructure would be resolved in the near future”, Diack said.

Sandra Kramer, Ambassador, European Union said the visit demonstrated what “DSV, the European Union and Denmark were bringing in terms of direct jobs, but also skills and knowhow. This is what the partnership between SA and the European Union looks like”.

Ambassador of Denmark to South Africa, Elsebeth Søndergaard Krone said she was pleased to accompany Minister Rasmussen to DSV, a “good example of a Danish company providing jobs and enabling trade between SA and the world”.

Delegates from the Department of Trade, Industry & Competition included Deputy Director General Lerato Mataboge; Dr Tebogo Makube: Chief Director, Industrial Procurement; Nomvula Tsatsi, Director B-BBEE; Ambassador Sadick Jaffer, Chief Director, Investment and Promotion; Yandeya Mashau: Director – Europe Bilateral Trade Relations; and Zanele Sanni, Chief Director, Export Promotion and Marketing.

Deputy DG Mataboge welcomed the opportunity to see how DSV moved product through the country and the continent. “Companies like DSV are central to integrating SA into the African economy”, she said.

DSV was particularly proud of its work in developmentally important sectors such as education (where more than 61 million workbooks are delivered annually on behalf of the Department of Education) and healthcare (where more than 16.5 million Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine doses were distributed between May 2021 and April 2023).