Selling across Africa starts at home

What the report says

Standard Digital published an enterprise column by Lydiah Kiburu arguing that Kenyan small and medium-sized enterprises seeking customers elsewhere in Africa must first build stronger internal systems at home. The article opens with an example of a Kenyan food processor whose potential supermarket order in Uganda slowed after the buyer asked about consistent quality, compliant labelling, replacement shipments, electronic invoicing, stock tracking and delivery documentation.

The column says such opportunities often falter not because regional trade agreements are absent, but because businesses are not operationally ready for cross-border sales. It points to Kenya’s digital infrastructure as a useful starting point: firms can take mobile and bank payments, market through social platforms, sell online, use eTIMS for electronic tax invoices, coordinate logistics digitally and interact with customs through the Kenya Revenue Authority’s Integrated Customs Management System.

Kiburu identifies four readiness areas for SMEs: product consistency, compliance with destination-market rules, fulfilment capacity and financial discipline. She advises businesses to document production and packaging standards, verify labels, certificates and rules of origin, calculate landed costs, plan transport and insurance, set written payment terms, assess buyers and avoid taking on orders they cannot finance.

The article also notes that regional frameworks such as the East African Community, Comesa and the African Continental Free Trade Area can make trade easier, but are not a substitute for business preparedness. Its practical recommendation is for SMEs to select one target market, confirm requirements, work with a credible buyer or distributor, start with a manageable trial order and learn from pricing, delivery, payment and customer-service challenges before scaling.