UNECA, DHL Express Partner to Boost African SMEs in Cross-Border Trade Under AfCFTA

 The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa have signed a landmark three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the continent navigate and scale within intra-African trade. Delivered through DHL’s GoTrade programme, the collaboration provides practical support to help local businesses leverage opportunities under Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a single market encompassing over 1.5 billion people.

The strategic partnership establishes a robust framework for cooperation focused on capacity building for women- and youth-owned businesses, digital transformation, joint research, and knowledge sharing on cross-border commerce. As their flagship first engagement, ECA and DHL are launching a joint virtual training series designed to guide African entrepreneurs through practical trade hurdles. This educational initiative will cover essential operational topics including customs procedures, logistics management, e-commerce integration, digital trade tools, regulatory compliance, market access strategies, and trade finance solutions.

While regional integration offers unprecedented access across the continent, small enterprises frequently encounter steep operational barriers. Addressing these challenges, Hennie Heymans, CEO of DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, noted that while many African businesses have strong ambitions to expand beyond local borders, they often face practical obstacles in understanding customs requirements, securing reliable logistics, and navigating unfamiliar regulatory systems. He emphasized that regional integration initiatives like the AfCFTA create immense opportunities, but those opportunities only translate into actual growth when business owners possess the knowledge, confidence, and practical capabilities to act on them.

The initiative builds on DHL’s global GoTrade programme, which has supported over 24,000 SMEs across 50 countries since 2021, including more than 8,000 in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. By targeting private-sector capability, the agreement aligns with ECA projections showing that full implementation of the AfCFTA could boost intra-African trade by 45% by 2045. Through this initial three-year non-exclusive agreement, both organizations aim to establish a repeatable model for unlocking regional market access, driving inclusive economic participation, and strengthening regional value chains across the continent.