A new partnership between logistics group DHL Express, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), financial services company Standard Bank and telecommunications company MTN aims to tackle a range of logistical, financial, regulatory and digital barriers preventing South African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from participating more meaningfully in Africa’s international trade markets.
The partnership, launched under the theme of “Unlocking Africa’s Potential One SME At a Time” at DHL’s head office, in Midrand, on August 11, intends to bring together capabilities across Africa’s trade ecosystem under the GoTrade programme, with each of the partners arguing that SMEs need more than access to finance and markets to become sustainable exporters.
Upon signing the GoTrade partnership programme memorandum of understanding (MoU), DHL Express sub-Saharan Africa CEO Hennie Heymans highlighted that the partnership represented an opportunity to create an SME growth platform that could help businesses access markets beyond immediate country borders.
“GoTrade is where we use our international network and expertise to help facilitate international cross-border trade with the SMEs. The more we can empower our SMEs, the more wealth we will create, the more wealth we create the more sustainable [South Africa’s] economic growth becomes,” Heymans said.
