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Coffee with: Abir Leheta, CEO of Egytrans: Leheta (LinkedIn) was appointed CEO of Egyptian logistics and transportation provider Egytrans in 2015 becoming the first female chair in the company’s 45-year history. We had a chat with Leheta about what lies in store for Egytrans, the company’s sustainable transportation strategy, and how it is navigating industry challenges amid the ongoing tensions in the Red Sea.
Edited and condensed excerpts of our conversation follow.
Enterprise: What were some of the significant milestone achievements the company has achieved recently?
Abir Leheta: We celebrated Egytrans’ 50th anniversary last year and over the past three years, we have been working on a comprehensive transformation strategy which has resulted in increased diversification and building a wider team.
The biggest milestone for us last year was our acquisition of NOSCO, where Egytrans will be purchasing 99.9% of their shares in a share swap. We are looking to leverage NOSCO’s expertise in land transport to further develop our spectrum of logistics and transport services. Creating a newer, bigger entity is really going to enable us to serve our customers better, and allow us to invest into bigger projects and expand into different areas.
E: How is Egytrans capitalizing on opportunities in the regional logistics sector?
AL: We are excited about our joint venture with Saudi-based investment firm Links investment, a company with a very solid investment base. The firm has a considerable land bank in Saudi Arabia which we can tap into with our know-how and capability to expand infrastructure growth.
Our focus is also going to be on leveraging our competitive advantage to serve KSA’s ambitious Vision 2030 plan and their large-scale renewable energy projects. Egytrans has transported the supply chain for around 90% of the wind farms in Egypt, and we plan to continue by expanding our fleet, capabilities, and technical know-how. Our background in sustainable transport solutions is going to be easily transferable to the Saudi market.
E: How important is the integration of sustainable transport solutions?
AL: I believe the transition to sustainable solutions is part of our company’s DNA. I think sustainability will be a huge focus in the transport industry going forward, as the industry is responsible for about a quarter of global carbon emissions. There is both a challenge and an opportunity, with sustainability becoming a core concept that every company must focus and work on.
Egytrans is a founding member of Chapter Zero Egypt, an organization which is focused on bringing climate governance into the conversation at board and executive levels to raise awareness and make it a central part of company strategy.
E: How have ongoing Red Sea trade disruptions affected operations and what is Egytrans doing to overcome the challenges?
AL: It’s definitely a challenging situation, which has had a direct impact on supply chains and the cost of freight in a massive way. The cost of freight had begun to recover and come back down, after increasing dramatically on the back of the pandemic. Now we are seeing freight rates jump through the roof. I believe what we are seeing is just a temporary situation, but whether it will last weeks or months is unclear at this point. The Suez Canal remains the best route and is not replaceable by any long-term solution.
When we are faced with challenges of this magnitude for our customers, our immediate focus is on how to help our customers mitigate them. How do we help find the most cost effective way for them to receive their goods? As a company we have overcome a lot of ups and downs over the past few years, navigating the pandemic and the considerable impact of the Russia-Ukraine war. I think it has come down to having a strategy that leads to resilience and adaptability. We as an organization have built up sufficient diversity to weather these challenges. Recently, we have focused on expanding our market share to keep our business resilient and growing, despite economic, political, or geopolitical fluctuations.
E: What’s next for the company?
AL: We are working on restructuring our group of companies with plans to transform Egytrans into a mother company. We’re looking to expand our portfolio of services through subsidiaries, while also providing shared services to those subsidiaries. This restructuring is currently happening in the context of our NOSCO acquisition.
This year we are also gearing up to launch the second round of Logivators in partnership with startup accelerator Startup Factory with the support of USAID, and we’re already in the process of selecting a new cohort of startups to take part. The program is focused on boosting the acceleration of startups working on digital transformation in the logistics industry.
