GENEVA — The International Trade Centre and DHL have renewed a partnership aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly women-led businesses, overcome barriers to international trade and expand into new markets.
The organizations signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday to deepen their cooperation, combining ITC’s expertise in market intelligence, small-business development and inclusive trade with DHL’s logistics network and technical expertise.
Small and medium-sized enterprises account for about 90% of businesses worldwide and provide roughly 70% of employment and global gross domestic product, according to ITC. Despite their economic importance, many face difficulties accessing international markets, including challenges involving logistics, supply chains, digital capabilities and trade knowledge.
Under the agreement, ITC and DHL will support small businesses with cross-border exports, supply chains and logistics. They also plan to work with business-support organizations and ITC SheTrades Hubs to improve services for small and women-led businesses and advocate for their interests in international trade discussions.
“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 said.
“That’s why we’re deepening our work with DHL to help more small businesses, particularly women-led businesses, to overcome last-mile logistics barriers and reach new markets, and to ensure their perspectives are heard at decision-making tables,” she said.
The organizations have worked together since 2016 through initiatives including DHL GoTrade, ITC SheTrades and ITC ecomConnect. Their programs have reached businesses in more than 60 countries across Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Hennie Heymans, CEO of DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, said many small businesses have the ambition to trade internationally but lack access to the resources needed to do so.
“SMEs are the backbone of economies worldwide, yet their participation in international trade remains disproportionately low,” Heymans said. “The challenge is rarely a lack of ambition. More often, businesses need access to knowledge, finance, digital capabilities and logistics support.”
“That is why partnerships like this matter,” he said. “By bringing together the right partners, we can build the ecosystems that help businesses grow with confidence, reach new customers and unlock the opportunities that international trade creates.”
Since 2021, DHL GoTrade projects have been launched in more than 60 countries, reaching more than 26,000 small and medium-sized enterprises and 8,000 women-owned businesses through training in logistics, e-commerce and trade, according to the organizations.
Through ITC SheTrades, DHL and ITC have provided technical assistance, logistics expertise and shipping solutions to more than 4,000 women-led businesses across 60 countries since 2018. The initiative has also worked with SheTrades Hubs in Kenya, South Africa, Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobago.
Between 2020 and 2024, the ITC ecomConnect program connected more than 400 SMEs with DHL support, including preferential shipping arrangements that reduced costs by up to 60% in selected markets.
DHL also participated in July 2025 as a private-sector champion at ITC’s inaugural Global SME Ministerial Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The renewed agreement is intended to build on that cooperation by expanding practical support for small businesses and strengthening their participation in international trade policy discussions.
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