Andre Klynsmith

Distribution

"Getting It to Them": Why Last-Mile Logistics Is the Real Barrier for SADC's Small Exporters

The International Trade Centre and DHL have signed an agreement to expand their support for small and medium-sized enterprises trading across borders, with a particular focus on women-led businesses. The assistance covers exports, supply chains and logistics — and the framing from both parties was that distribution, not production, is where small exporters fail.

Distribution

17 September 2026 • 4 min read

"For small businesses, the main challenge is not in creating quality products for customers but getting it to them." — ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton. That sentence describes a market, not just a development problem.

What the Partnership Covers

The two organisations announced the expanded agreement this week. Alongside direct assistance to SMEs, they will work with business support organisations and ITC SheTrades Hubs — including the hub in South Africa — to strengthen the services available to small businesses. Coke-Hamilton said the expanded partnership will help businesses overcome last-mile logistics barriers and reach new markets.

DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa CEO Hennie Heymans framed the constraint more broadly: SMEs typically need better access to trade knowledge, finance, digital capabilities and logistics support before they can participate in international markets. "By bringing together the right partners, we can build the ecosystems that help businesses grow with confidence," he said.

The Shipping Cost Problem Behind the Headline

The most concrete figure in the announcement concerns price. Between 2020 and 2024, the ITC ecomConnect programme connected more than 400 SMEs to DHL support, including preferential shipping arrangements that the organisations say reduced costs by up to 60% in selected markets. A discount of that magnitude is not a marketing gesture — it is the difference between a small consignment being viable to export and not.

That figure also explains why small exporters so often stall after the first order. A producer can absorb a punishing per-kilogram rate on one sample shipment to prove a product. They cannot absorb it on repeat commercial volumes. Without aggregation or a negotiated rate, the freight line on the invoice eats the margin the export was meant to earn.

Where the Regional Opportunity Sits

The partnership is global in scope, and the South African SheTrades hub gives it a regional anchor. But the structural gap it addresses is exactly the one SADC distribution operators are positioned to fill: small consignments, from producers without freight expertise, moving to buyers in neighbouring markets. The parcel and express segment is well served on major lanes. Sub-pallet volumes from secondary centres, moving across a border, are not.

Programmes such as GoTrade and SheTrades raise the capability of the shipper side — documentation, incoterms, e-commerce readiness. What they do not supply is regional capacity. A cohort of newly export-ready small businesses in Windhoek, Lusaka or Gaborone still needs someone with a truck, a consolidation point and a customs relationship to move the goods.

About the Author
	Andre Klynsmith Entrepreneur & Technology Enthusiast Andre's expertise spans technology, blockchain, transport, and logistics — with a passion for innovation and driving positive change across industries. info@laaimylorrie.com | laaimylorrie.com