The toolkit was inspired by the numerous requests SimplyBiz received from its members for more information about trading beyond South Africa’s borders, including regular questions about compliance requirements, market opportunities, and trade treaties.

The Trading in Africa Toolkit is part of SimplyBiz’s focus on empowering small businesses to grow, scale and be sustainable.

SimplyBiz offers business owners advice, inspiration, access to mentorship, educational articles, and webinars, as well as finance and market access opportunities.

The Trading in Africa Toolkit answers pertinent questions about expanding into African markets and demystifies cross-border African trade. It also provides SMEs with the knowledge and tools they need to take advantage of Africa’s wealth of potential to build businesses.

The African continent is brimming with immense business opportunities thanks to its rapidly growing and increasingly urbanised consumer market, much of which comprises aspiring and upwardly mobile youth.

This means that, for SMEs on the continent, there is unmatched potential for entrepreneurial growth across all 54 of Africa’s diverse nations.

That said, capitalising on Africa’s myriad investment opportunities is not a simple feat, given the complex web of regulations, cultures, and trade environments that need to be navigated.

‘Sustained business growth requires increased income from new markets coupled with diligent expense management,’ explains Alan Shannon, executive head at Nedbank Small Business Services and Private Clients, ‘and while the digital age has expanded information access, clear and objective global trade resources are still in short supply.’

Shannon says that the SimplyBiz Trading in Africa Toolkit addresses this gap, delivering essential insights to drive informed and profitable expansion across Africa.

Developed in close collaboration with In On Africa (IOA), a pre-eminent pan-African research and advisory firm, the toolkit harnesses more than a decade of IOA data-driven market intelligence and on-the-ground experience across all 54 African countries.

This powerful knowledge base has been distilled into practical guidance for SMEs, giving them an in-depth understanding of each nation’s regulatory environment, cultural nuances, trade policies, and sector opportunities.

‘The toolkit’s comprehensive overviews and analyses, covering the full scope of the African trade landscape, will undoubtedly prove indispensable for SMEs looking to strategically evaluate Africa’s market potential,’ says Shannon, ‘and thanks to IOA’s rigorous research methodologies, toolkit users can be assured of accurate and up-to-date insights and valuable economic indicators.’

Crucially, the Trading in Africa Toolkit does not simply diagnose the challenges of intra-Africa trade; it also provides tailored strategies to overcome complexities and mitigate risks. In this way, the toolkit is a highly practical playbook for SMEs, detailing best practices they can leverage to profitably navigate Africa’s diverse markets.

Shannon describes it as an accessible, independent and essential African expansion resource. ‘The ultimate mission of this toolkit is to cultivate informed and strategic decision-making that unlocks Africa’s limitless economic potential and empowers entrepreneurs to introduce their products and services into new African markets,’ explains Shannon.

The toolkit is available for free on the SimplyBiz website at simplybiz.co.za and shows the commitment of both SimplyBiz and Nedbank to fostering an enabling an environment that encourages SME growth through extensive market access, practical tools, business guidance and networking opportunities.

This free digital resource, where business owners share advice, inspiration and access mentorship, has partnered with 12 local markets countrywide to enable market access and trade opportunities for small businesses.

With the country’s unemployment rate improving marginally by 0,7 percentage points to 31,7% in the 3rd quarter of the 2023, according to Stats SA, and the repo rate remaining unchanged, it is estimated that South Africans will spend over R200 billion this festive season.

Monique Chinnah, Senior Manager of Segment Design and Development at Nedbank, says:

“The December holiday season presents massive trade opportunities for entrepreneurs. SimplyBiz provides much-needed support to small businesses, like access to practical business information and tools, funding, and networking opportunities with other business owners for collaboration and growth prospects throughout the year. Through this intervention SimplyBiz is narrowing the gap between these small businesses and the market to enable trade and long-term relationship building with customers.”

To make this possible, SimplyBiz gives funding to 12 market organisers to help them cover costs that make the market possible, like venue hire, infrastructure and advertising.

Nedbank’s market sponsorship packages have been curated according the unique needs of each market – and range from maker stall subsidies, tabletop signs, marketing, social media boosting, entertainer subsidies, tents, picnic benches, vendor business development workshops and even shopping vouchers to be spent with participating makers.

The partner markets are the following:

1. Nedbank CVM Holiday Market (Sandton, Gauteng).
2. Fourways Farmers Market (Fourways, Gauteng).
3. Hartelus Market (Parys, Free State).
4. Innibos Market (Bloemfontein, Free State).
5. Limpopo Market (Meropa Sun, Polokwane).
6. Linden Market (Linden, Gauteng).
7. Panorama Flea Market (Mulbarton, Gauteng).
8. Shongweni Farmers Market (Shongweni, KwaZulu Natal).
9. The Gorge Market (Gqeberha, Eastern Cape).
10. The Mbombela Farmers Market at the Lowveld Botanical Gardens (Mbombela, Mpumalanga).
11. The Pop Up Collective (Stellenbosch, Western Cape).
12. Urban Family Market (Mahikeng, North West).

The market-makers range from food and deli, clothing and fashion, craft beverage, and micro farmer businesses to antique and organic products suppliers as well as up-and-coming entertainers and more.

‘We implore South Africans to support the markets and small businesses with their heart, feet and wallets,’ adds Chinnah.

“Through their hearts they can choose to support local, and through their feet they can take time out of the festive season schedules to attend the markets to see the assortment of products sold by small businesses and support them by spending a portion of their festive season budget at any of the stalls,” Chinnah concludes.

Entrepreneurs are encouraged to register on SimplyBiz.co.za to grow their businesses and enjoy real and relevant support, too.