Roughly one-third of African countries have no coastline. For these nations, every import and export must cross at least one border before reaching a seaport. The result is higher costs, longer transit times, and greater exposure to logistical friction. But across Africa, a combination of corridor development, rail revitalization, inland dry ports, digital borders, and high-level political initiatives are beginning to dismantle barriers to trade—from the Sahel to Southern Africa.
Africa’s Landlocked Countries (16)
Burkina Faso • Burundi • Central African Republic • Chad • Ethiopia Lesotho • Eswatini • Malawi • Mali • Niger • Rwanda South Sudan • Uganda • Zambia • Zimbabwe • Botswana
Together, these nations represent ~200 million people and significant economic potential — especially in agriculture, manufacturing, and regional commerce.
Managing Trade Without a Coastline
Landlocked countries rely on transit corridors through coastal neighbors:
LLDC
Main Transit Routes
Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan
Mombasa (Kenya), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)
Ethiopia
Djibouti Port (90%+ of trade)
Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali
Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Tema (Ghana), Lomé (Togo)
Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana
Durban (South Africa), Beira & Nacala (Mozambique)
Chad, Central Africa Rep
Douala (Cameroon), Pointe-Noire (Congo)
These flows are operated by trucks, rail, and inland terminals — but multiple borders, procedures, fees, and congestion increase costs and risks.
Landlocked countries typically face 20–50% higher logistics costs than coastal peers, driven by:
Multiple customs clearances
Transit and road charges
Delays at ports and borders
13. Long Transit Times
Inefficient corridors, capacity limits, and paperwork bottlenecks slow delivery and raise inventory costs.
12. Trade Competitiveness
Exporters often lose out in regional and global markets due to the added cost burden, weakening industrial diversification.
Strategic Responses: Corridors, Policy, and Infrastructure
11. 1) AfCFTA Trade Facilitation
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aims to harmonise rules, cut tariffs, and reduce cross-border delays — a foundational step to unlocking corridors.
10. 2) Trans-Africa Highway Network
Road corridors such as the North–South Corridor, Tripoli–Cape Town, and Lagos–Mombasa link inland capitals to ports, shaving days off transit times and improving reliability.
9. 3) Rail Revival
Rail links are critical for high-volume, lower-cost transport:
Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway: Ethiopia’s main export route
Kenya SGR (Mombasa–Nairobi): Paving the way toward Uganda
TAZARA (Tanzania–Zambia): Connecting Zambia to the Indian Ocean
8. 4) Inland Dry Ports
Dry ports and ICDs in Kampala, Kigali, Modjo, Isaka, Ndjamena, etc., are enabling customs clearance closer to producers, reducing costly delays at maritime gateways.
7. 5) Digital Border Systems
Electronic Single Windows, online manifests, and cargo tracking reduce paperwork, delays, and corruption risk across borders.
The Moroccan Royal Initiative: Unlocking the Sahel
In recent years, King Mohammed VI of Morocco has championed an initiative aimed at integrating the Sahel region into continental trade networks. The initiative includes:
6. Political and Economic Integration
Morocco’s engagement with Sahelian states (e.g., Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad) emphasises cooperation in infrastructure, investment, energy, transport, and logistics — seeking to reinforce landlocked economies’ access to global markets.
5. Infrastructure Partnerships
Morocco has proposed strategic linkages between Moroccan ports (Casablanca, Tangier Med) and Sahelian corridors, encouraging investment in rail, road, and dry logistics platforms that reduce transit distances and open new corridors to Atlantic gateways.
4. Trade & Industrial Zones
Through Moroccan-backed economic zones, special industrial parks, and logistics platforms, the initiative aims to create value-adding hubs connected to both coastal ports and inland markets — clustering production near logistics access points.
3. A Regional Vision Beyond Borders
By linking West African and Sahelian economies to broader corridors (including Trans-Sahara and North–South axes), the initiative enhances economic sovereignty and aligns with African Union development blueprints.
Impact potential:
Lower dependence on a single gateway
Diversification of import and export routes
Attraction of investment in manufacturing and logistics clusters
Better integration into AfCFTA value chains
2. Why Desenclavement Matters
Lower logistics friction = more competitive economies.
With smarter corridors, inland terminals, and political cooperation:
LLDCs can process and export value-added goods
Regional hubs gain scale and attract FDI
Transport risk and cost decrease for producers and consumers
Intra-Africa trade becomes more viable
1. Challenges Still Ahead
Financing and funding gaps for multi-country infrastructure
Policy alignment among sovereign states
Security challenges along key corridors
Maintenance costs for roads and rail
But momentum is palpable — from corridor authorities to private logistics investors and continental trade agreements.
Geography no longer needs to be destiny. With sustained infrastructure investment, digital systems, and political momentum — including initiatives like Morocco’s Sahel integration — Africa’s landlocked nations are on a path toward greater economic integration, lower trade costs, and improved competitiveness on the global stage.
