Coco Ferguson first saw the potential in logistics real estate in East Africa, where as a co-founder of Nairobi-based Maris Limited, she raised raised USD 60 million to fund the development of Kenya’s first “Grade A” warehouses. Now she wants to replicate that success with Iran Warehouse, a company she founded alongside Nader Sianaki, whose family developed some of Iran’s first modern warehousing seventy-five years ago.
The logistics industry in Iran is burgeoning. International players such as DHL Freight and Kuehne + Nagel are connecting the Iranian market to the world by land, while Maersk Line and MSC create new links by sea, facilitating the significant increase in the variety of foreign goods available in Iran since the lifting of international sanctions in January of 2016. The rise of e-commerce has also led to significantly more demand for timely and reliable logistics and distribution services.