The CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions, announces the signature of a high-level framework for joint cooperation with Keynan institutional authorities to implement initiatives towards the development of Kenya’s logistics and port capacity. The objective is to accelerate solutions to meet the growth of supply chain flows in and out of east and Central African maritime demand, inland logistics and freight management.
This strategic partnership will look for joint investment solutions to improve the competitiveness and strengthen the region’s integration into global trade routes through Kenyan reinforced infrastructures.
It has been signed as part of the Africa Forward Summit, and in the presence of the Presidents of the French and Kenyan Republics, M. Emmanuel MACRON et M William RUTO.
This significant announcement comes in the immediate aftermath of the inauguration of the CMA CGM Group’s Africa Regional Office in Abidjan on April 23, 2026, marking a further step in the Group’s strategic expansion across the African continent.
CMA CGM Group has been present in Kenya since 2005 and continues to play a key role in the country’s logistics ecosystem, connecting Mombasa and Lamu to global markets and supporting inland corridors across East Africa.
A long-term investment strategy across Africa focused on port infrastructure, logistics integration and decarbonization
Present on the African continent for more than 50 years, the CMA CGM Group is pursuing a long-term development strategy based on securing port and inland capacities, developing structuring regional hubs, integrating logistics solutions, and accelerating the decarbonization of transport chains. The Group is currently involved in the operation and development of nine container terminals across the continent, reflecting the depth of its long-term commitment.
Through several investments, CMA CGM is building a network of high-performance maritime and land hubs across Africa, designed to secure trade flows, improve connectivity, and support sustainable economic growth across the continent.
The Kribi Container Terminal (Cameroon), in which CMA CGM is a major stakeholder together with AGL, continues to strengthen its role as a strategic regional hub. The recent expansion of the terminal yard will increase capacity and support growing volumes across the sub-region, with further development phases under consideration in the longer term.
In Nigeria, Lekki Deep Sea Port, operated by CMA Terminals with the participation of CHEC, stands at the core of the Group’s strategy in the Gulf of Guinea. With rapidly growing capacity and ongoing equipment and infrastructure investments, the terminal is positioning itself as a major gateway for West Africa. The Group also ambitions at developing a 100% electric river barge project connecting the Lekki terminal to inland dry ports in Lagos. This initiative aims to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions, improve the reliability of urban logistics flows, and further strengthen the attractiveness of the Lekki terminal, supporting customers’ growing demand for low-carbon logistics solutions.
In the Republic of Congo, the development of a new deep-water terminal in Pointe-Noire, in partnership with AD Ports Group, will create a new Atlantic hub in Central Africa, designed to support transshipment activities and regional trade flows.
On the North African Mediterranean Coast, CMA CGM is also reinforcing its presence through several strategic projects. These include the development of the Nador West Med terminal in Morocco, strengthening the country’s integration into East–West trade routes, as well as implementing container capacity expansion at the TMT terminal in Alexandria, with EMP as Egyptian partner, to support the rapid growth of import and export flows, as well as transhipment.
In Egyptian North Red Sea, its participation in the Red Sea Container Terminal in Sokhna, together with COSCO Ports and HIT, contributes to the development of a next-generation logistics hub combining port, rail and inland connectivity.
Beyond port infrastructure, CMA CGM is strengthening the integration of logistics solutions across Africa through its subsidiary CEVA Logistics, developing multimodal corridors combining maritime, rail and road transport to connect ports efficiently to inland markets and support regional supply chains. This approach is key to improving reliability, reducing transit times and enhancing the overall performance of logistics chains across the continent.
Two new projects announced by the CMA CGM Foundation to reinforce its commitment to education and innovation: the expansion of the innovation center, and the renovation of the main football field of the University of Nairobi.
In Mombasa, the CMA CGM Foundation will expand the I.O. Me001 innovation center, through the addition of seven containers converted into spaces dedicated to vocational training entrepreneurship and activities linked to emerging technologies. This center was inaugurated in 2023 and had already benefited from support from the CMA CGM Foundation in partnership with the Kenyan Red Cross and the French Embassy. Last year it welcomed more than 1200 students and 15 institutions.
In Nairobi, the CMA CGM Foundation will also contribute to the complete renovation of the main football field of the University of Nairobi, and its drainage system, adapted to the climate-related challenges. It will benefit nearly 50,000 students, particularly those from the five faculties located on the university’s main campus.
These two new projects further strengthen the Foundation’s already significant presence in Africa. It is currently running more than 10 projects in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Egypt.
In partnership with Action Against Hunger, it also deploys PharmaBoxes: containers converted into mobile pharmacies to meet the needs for refrigerated and secure medicine storage. Lastly, since the launch of its “Containers of Hope” initiative in 2012, 120,000 tonnes of humanitarian supplies (medical equipment, therapeutic food, and educational materials) have been transported free of charge by sea to 106 countries, including 48 in Africa, on behalf of partner international humanitarian organizations such as UNICEF, World Food Program, International Committee of the Red Cross, Action Against Hunger, and Doctors without Borders.
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