From 1 to 4 November 2026, the Africa Logistics Network (ALN) will meet its members in Rome, Italy, for its 12th annual meeting. After Addis Ababa in 2025, the network returned to the country where it was founded, with the programme of business meetings and exchanges on trade relations between Italy and Africa, the Mattei Plan and the African Continental Free Trade Area (FTACAf).
The annual meeting of theAfrica Logistics Network will be held at A.Roma Lifestyle Hotel, in collaboration with By All Means (BAM), an international alliance of logistics professionals. The programme foresees institutional interventions on 2 November, followed by a discussion on Africa's development prospects and trade with Italy.
Individual meetings between professionals (business-to-business, B2B) are then scheduled until 4 November. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has given its patronage to this edition.
The choice of Rome has a particular dimension for the network. Founded in 2015 by the Italian Alessandro Saponaro, the ALN was born out of the desire to connect African freight forwarders with international partners and to facilitate their access to reliable correspondents in different markets.
The aim was, in particular, to enable small and medium-sized transit enterprises to develop their activities beyond their usual markets, without having to establish themselves in each country.
After the death of its founder, his son Marcello Saponaro continued the development of the network, of which he is today the president. In an interview with Africa Supply Chain in May 2025, he explained that the annual NLA meetings alternate between Africa and other continents, with the aim of bringing African freight forwarders closer to international trading partners.
From Bergamo to Addis Ababa, an international network
The first annual NLA meeting was held in Bergamo, Italy, in 2015. Since then, the event has been organised in Agadir in 2016, Lisbon in 2017, Dakar in 2018, Istanbul in 2019, then in Muscat, Nairobi, Bangkok and Addis Ababa. The Rome meeting thus constitutes a return to the home country of the network, after several editions organized in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
In November 2025, Addis Ababa hosted the 11th annual NLA meeting. This edition brought together 176 delegations representing 124 companies. It had also been an opportunity to announce the evolution of ALNA towards By All Means (BAM), an alliance designed to expand network connections globally, while maintaining its partnership with ALN.
The return to Italy therefore takes place in a new phase of development of this professional community. It is also a continuation of a model based on direct meetings between freight forwarders, the exchange of contacts and the search for partners able to take over operations in different countries.
The Mattei plan and Africa-Europe exchanges on the agenda
On 2 November, discussions will include trade relations with Africa under the Mattei Plan, an Italian initiative for cooperation with African countries, as well as the FTACAf and the continent's development prospects. The objective will be to examine possibilities for trade development, transport connections and conditions for better management of freight flows between markets.
These topics directly concern transit and logistics companies. The evolution of international trade requires networks of partners capable of organising shipments, coordinating customs operations and facilitating the movement of goods between countries.
For African freight forwarders, access to reliable correspondents in foreign markets is one way to broaden their service offerings and better support their customers in their international operations.
ALM Group, media partner of the event through Africa Supply Chain Magazine, will be present in Rome to cover the exchanges and gather feedback from professionals. The impact of this 12th annual meeting will, in particular, allow us to review the prospects for cooperation between African operators and their international partners, as well as developments in transit networks and supply chains.
