The International Trade Centre (ITC) and DHL have signed an agreement to expand their support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking to trade across borders, the organisations announced this week.
The partnership will focus particularly on women-led businesses with assistance covering exports, supply chains and logistics.
ITC and DHL said they will also work with business support organisations and ITC SheTrades Hubs, including the hub in South Africa, to strengthen the services available to small businesses.
Logistics is a significant obstacle for SMEs attempting to reach customers in international markets, said ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton.
“For small businesses, the main challenge is not in creating quality products for customers but getting it to them.”
Coke-Hamilton said the expanded partnership will help businesses overcome last-mile logistics barriers and gain access to new markets.
SMEs often require better access to trade knowledge, finance, digital capabilities and logistics support to participate in international markets, said DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa CEO Hennie Heymans.
“By bringing together the right partners, we can build the ecosystems that help businesses grow with confidence, reach new customers and unlock the opportunities that international trade creates.”
ITC and DHL have worked together since 2016 through initiatives including DHL GoTrade, ITC SheTrades and ITC ecomConnect.
According to the organisations, GoTrade projects have been launched in more than 60 countries since 2021, providing logistics, e-commerce and trade training to more than 26 000 SMEs, including 8 000 women-owned businesses.
The SheTrades partnership has provided technical assistance, logistics expertise and shipping solutions to more than 4 000 women-led businesses across 60 countries since 2018, the organisations said.
Between 2020 and 2024, ecomConnect also connected more than 400 SMEs to DHL support, according to ITC and DHL. This included preferential shipping arrangements that, they said, reduced costs by up to 60% in selected markets.
