Connecting Rail
Connecting Africa

News

Afreximbank and Thelo DB renew partnership for the development of railways in Africa

Thelo DB Consortium and the Government of the Republic of Ghana signed a 25 year Rail Management Agreement...

The role of railways in empowering AfCFTA’s success

How railways can drive Africa’s economic development

Integrated solutions for the challenges of Africa’s railways

Innovation for the big picture and the smallest detail
Read more

Railway proposition to the economy

Connecting Rail
Connecting Africa

Shifting the paradigm to a fully integrated railway model for Africa

Delivering lasting benefits for our stakeholders

Driven to succeed together

Integrated solutions for the challenges of Africa’s railways

Innovation for the big picture and the smallest detail

Africa’s infrastructure deficit results in strong demand for commercial investment in industrial and infrastructure projects. Africa can realize the opportunity for growth it offers stakeholders and investors, by meeting the challenges of underdeveloped infrastructure, energy constraints and lack of industrial capacity.

It has been estimated that Africa’s railways alone require more than USD 170 bn to update existing infrastructure and to build new railway lines.

Thelo DB is passionate about taking on this challenge through its integrated railway model. We deliver solutions with the view to help unlock the many strategic levers that rail offers, including advancing regional integration, sustainability and socio-economic development, and helping to address the constraints of rail infrastructure and its funding – as well as its technological administrative and structural dimensions:

Lack of investment in rail infrastructure

We help unlock alternative financing solutions

Constraints within current rail company structures

We enable public and private sector participation for project effectiveness

Major lack of efficient rail operations

We help break free from the limitations of traditional railway cultures

Lack of experienced human capital

We put unrivalled development sector expertise in place for operational effectiveness

Outmoded maintenance facilities

We spend appropriately on equipment, personnel and facilities to manage and maintain infrastructure and equipment

Long lead-time and cost of rolling stock

Effective, integrated planning enables us to optimally meet future demand

Dysfunctional train control systems

Reliable communications are a primary and core element of all our rail projects

Connecting Rail
Connecting Africa

Shifting the paradigm to a fully integrated railway model for Africa

The rail industry in Africa is experiencing a recovery. African countries are starting to capitalize on commercial solutions.

African railways suffer from outdated infrastructure due to challenging historical, economic, technological and institutional conditions, with operations often below international standards.

Africa requires accelerated infrastructure development if its people and businesses are to experience economic and social success. Underpinning every aspect of this developmental gap, and its requirements, is the need for rail infrastructure development and associated finance solutions.

Railways are highly complex and to put a successful project together that will optimize its conception, engineering and build, as well as its use over the long term, requires expertise, diverse capabilities and strong relationships with stakeholders across the value chain.

The vision of Thelo DB is to deliver a lasting legacy that will advance the economic development of the continent through a fully integrated, fit-for-purpose railway model for Africa.

We call it, “Connecting Rail. Connecting Africa”.

We focus on building a paradigm shift in the way rail is viewed and how projects are approached – by combining global and local experience and capacity to deliver an end-to-end solution for projects of any size, with the aim to achieve exponential outcomes:

  • Helping to develop and increase trade efficiencies
  • Unlocking finance to grow networks, systems and operations in an integrated manner
  • Supporting the creation of economic diversification
  • Prioritizing training, skills development and job creation for local people
  • Generating additional revenue from downstream activities
  • Focusing on execution for a long-term project cycle

Delivering lasting benefits for our stakeholders

Driven to succeed together

We take pride in applying our holistic, fully integrated approach to projects, to deliver specific benefits and manage key factors that are important to our diverse stakeholders.

Supporting and enabling Governments

Rail can be a huge developmental tool for efficient movement of goods and people – with clear economic and operational benefits including increased FDI as a result of investment in mega-projects.

Thelo DB has the ability to navigate these sensitivities effectively, building the trust essential in dealing with prized national assets.

Creating efficiencies for Freight Owners

Motivated by solutions that drive efficiencies and increase throughput, Freight Carriers trust Thelo DB to facilitate reliable and consistent movement of goods, helping them to increase their bottom line.

Helping suppliers and capacity partners

Thelo DB is a consistent provider of opportunity for suppliers and capacity partners, helping them to contribute to major projects and secure business as part of our project teams.

Appealing to Finance Providers

Thelo DB projects provide an attractive path for financiers seeking long-term returns and predictable revenue streams, as well as the large bankable projects that are in shortage on the continent.

Investors increasingly need to demonstrate their ESG credentials and report on the impact of their investments – and see African rail as a major commercial opportunity to contribute to developmental impact and long-term sustainability.

Driving development for super-regulators

The development of rail projects is recognized as a legacy opportunity for supra-nationals such as the African Union. Thelo DB recognizes the value in helping to create results, goodwill, and enacting economic development and national integration on the back of strong policy direction.