One hundred and fifty small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 10 African countries are set to become Africa’s latest businesses positioned for the global export market with participation in the Export Readiness Programme (RERP) implemented by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Egyptian Exporters Association (Expolink) in Cairo, Egypt.
Designed to equip the SMEs with skills, knowledge and tools needed to succeed in regional and global markets and to address critical barriers, such as lack of export knowledge, challenges meeting compliance requirements for international standards and limited market access, the 6-month capacity-building programme, launched on 1 October, was materialized with an official Opening Ceremony on 17 November and the graduation of the first cohort of 25 participants from Egypt. The rest of the programme comprises of 5 other cohorts of 25 participants each making a total of 150 SMEs from 10 African countries including Egypt, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The programme also seeks to enhance the ability of the SMEs to contribute to economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction by making them export-ready so as to integrate them in the effort to help drive Africa’s economic transformation.
Commenting on the programme, Ayman Zogby, Director, Trade, Investment & Corporate Finance emphasised the Bank’s commitment to helping foster greater SME participation in global export value chains, saying:
“This programme is carefully designed to bridge the export gap between SMEs and larger corporates and to foster greater SME participation in global export value chains. We want each of the 150 participating SMEs to enhance their capacity to process, package, and deliver their products to international markets, meeting the highest quality standards. We are confident that this move will open new opportunities for the SMEs to tap into intra-African export value chains and will, ultimately, help them expand and thrive in global markets.”
Speaking at the event, Mr. Mohamed Kassem, Chairman of Expolink, said that the collaboration between Afreximbank and Expolink represented a significant step forward in empowering African SMEs to expand their reach and successfully access international markets.
“By leveraging the expertise and resources of both organizations, the partnership will provide the support, tools, and opportunities needed to enable African SMEs to thrive in the global export landscape.” He explained.
In addition to facilitating the transformation of the 150 SMEs from local operators to exporters, the programme will expand the pool of skilled and active exporters that can contribute to growing value-added export outcomes over time and will empower existing and prospective entrepreneurs with the knowledge and competencies for their export journeys.
Key aspects of the programme include the provision of comprehensive theoretical and practical support to enhance the participants’ broader business capabilities and assignment of a mentor to each member of the cohort to support his or her export development journey.
Additionally, all 150 beneficiaries of the RERP are being onboarded free of charge to MANSA, Afreximbank’s due diligence platform for businesses.
So far 3,170 SMEs have benefited from similar training through a series of accelerators, incubators, and workshops as part of Afreximbank’s Export SME Development Programme (ESDP). The programme spans 45 countries, including 38 in Africa and 7 in the Caribbean. Notably, 83% of the programme’s beneficiaries are women-led SMEs, and 68% are youth entrepreneurs—two key focus groups of the ESDP. The programme prioritizes agribusiness, manufacturing, technology, and creative sectors, which are essential for unlocking the potential of these businesses, boosting their competitiveness, and ultimately driving economic growth.
Expolink is one of the largest business associations in Egypt and has a track record of organising 541 international trade fairs and introducing more than 5,000 international trade partners to Egyptian exporters, in the process, creating more than 30,000 export opportunities.
