Partnerships have remained key on ZAMs agenda, to ensure full value add benefits for its members. The USAID Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub (USAID TradeHub) has been a strong partner for helping ZAM members access markets. On 28th March 2022, the two parties organised the Trainer of Trainers (ToT) Cross Border Trade Toolkit Training, for would-be exporters, currently members of ZAM, to equip them with the necessary cross border trade information and pass it on to other manufacturers who intend to export.
The main aim of the training was to equip export and would-be export organisations on the fundamental skills of exporting goods into South Africa and 30 members as well as 10 staffers from Secretariat were trained so as to pass on the information to would be exporters.
The training was conducted virtually through a presentation by Ms. Mary Gounder who is a Logistics and Trade Consultant. Her presentation commenced through a video broadcast on the main contents of the cross-border trade toolkit which answers questions and guides would be exporters through the export process to South Africa.
Additionally, the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) was discussed. AGOA is a US legislation that enhances access of eligible African Countries to the US market. The trainer then highlighted country and product eligibility requirements to benefit from the AGOA. The Sub Saharan countries that are eligible for AGOA include Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Lesotho. In regards to product eligibility, there are more than 6400 products that qualify for duty free access and can be found in the harmonized tariff schedule on the internet.
The trainer also explained on contracts and payment methods. A good contract will stipulate the details, terms and conditions of the sale protecting both parties and help in avoiding risks like non-delivery or non-payment and make the responsibilities of the buyer and supplier explicit. The presentation then highlighted four finance and payment methods that exporters may use being cash in advance, letter of credit, bank collection and open account basis.
Incoterms were discussed in the conclusion. It was explained that they are published by the International Chamber of Commerce to help avoid uncertainty and risks for both the buyer and seller. Incoterms help both parties to understand their responsibilities at every stage of the transaction. The training ended with an assessment to test the participant’s knowledge on the presented materials and the cross-border trade toolkit guide participants.
Mr. Peter Manda, Zambia Country Representative, USAID TradeHub thanked ZAM for supporting the training and mentioned that the USAID TradeHub was looking forward to seeing more ZAM members exporting their products to South Africa. Ms Florence Muleya – ZAM CEO thanked USAID Trade Hub for continued collaboration and knowledge sharing that was of great benefit to the members and Secretariat.
ZAM will facilitate for more of its members to utilize the Cross Border Trade Toolkit to easily export their products to south Africa.
