How DHL's 'GoTrade' opens global doors for SMEs

AS global supply chains evolve and developing economies strive to recover and grow, it becomes more crucial every day to empower small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to access international markets. The DHL Group's GoTrade program aims to achieve just this, facilitating cross-border trade for SMEs through training, logistics support, and strategic partnerships.

- BY DIVYA THOTAWATTE

During her visit to Sri Lanka recently, DHL Group's GoTrade Program Head Sarah Meinert spoke with Daily FT about the initiative's work on the ground, including ongoing collaborations with local institutions to strengthen the growth of SMEs. With a background in development research and a passion for gender equality, Meinert shared insights on how GoTrade went beyond business to create real opportunities for small and emerging entrepreneurs.

What is GoTrade and why it was created?

GoTrade is a sustainability program by DHL Group, which was launched in 2020. With GoTrade, we are leveraging what we are good at as logistics providers: our global reach and the expertise of our 600,000+ employees. We are the ones who know everything about e-commerce, international trade, and what needs to be done to get your package from A to B. With this in mind, it was basically a board decision to come up with a program to support SMEs to enable them to then go cross-border. We have rolled it out successfully in all regions of the world right now, and also trained quite a few SMEs up to now.

How does GoTrade fit into DHL's larger purpose of connecting people and improving lives?

It's basically the core of it. We are connecting people by doing trades and, hopefully, by this, also improving lives. In the end, if we are successful in bringing SMEs to trade and export their products to a broad market, we then also improve lives. So, we know that SMEs are the backbone of all economies; 80% of the economy of businesses worldwide are SMEs. They also create a lot of employment and play a role in economic growth. This is why we are definitely improving lives with GoTrade, and also with our other "Go" programs, including GoTeach, GoHelp, and GoGreen.

What kind of impact has GoTrade had globally so far, and any success stories you could share?