Trade missions are a highly recommended activity to facilitate, streamline and optimize the process that must be followed to export to many countries.
The first time I heard about a trade mission I didn’t pay much attention since I didn’t think that would help me enter new markets in the areas of my responsibility, which are
“Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.” But two years ago, one of my colleagues in the sales department encouraged me to go to my first trade mission, so that I could judge from my own experience.
Two years have passed since the recommendation, during which I have attended a total of 6 trade missions in 6 different countries; the most recent ones in Johannesburg “South Africa” and Nairobi “Kenya”.
A trade mission is an international trip by government officials and business people for the purpose of exploring international business opportunities. They offer a meeting agenda with the type of companies you need to build business relationships with in order to export your services or products to a target country. The agenda is organized by well-trained staff, in our case, by staff of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Embassy of Spain in the country where the trade mission is going to be held. They do a very thorough research looking for the most important companies and the ones that have a real interest for the company that is willing to export.
After being in 6 trade missions, I am in a position to say, from my own experience, that trade missions are an activity I highly recommend to any sales person or company willing to open new markets. Since it facilitates, streamlines and optimizes the process that must be followed to achieve this objective that many companies are focused on: to export to as many countries as possible.
Photo 1: Representatives of the Spanish companies participating in the trade mission to Johannesburg-South Africa with the head of the Spanish Trade Office in Johannesburg.
Photo 2: With one possible distributor.
Author: Nouh Badih, Sales Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East at Silos Córdoba.
