Absa Group and DHL Express have signed an agreement to help small and medium-sized busineses across sub-Saharan Africa trade beyond their national borders.
The memorandum of understanding, signed in Johannesburg, falls under DHL’s GoTrade programme, which aims to draw smaller firms into international markets by lowering the barriers that typically keep them out. Among those barriers, the two companies said, are a lack of logistics knowledge, limited access to financing, complex trade regulations and weak digital capacity.
Under the deal, DHL will bring its shipping network and cross-border expertise while Absa contributes its banking and digital services, with the stated aim of giving entrepreneurs the tools to move goods across the continent and into global markets. DHL said it would deploy facilitators and trade-lane experts to train businesses within Absa’s customer network, using a curriculum called “Trade and Grow Beyond Borders” made up of 14 modules pitched at firms at different stages of growth.
The two sides also plan to develop banking and logistics packages tailored to businesses that trade across borders, including those adopting greener supply-chain practices.
“Our main goal is to ensure we provide our African SMEs with the tools they need to access and participate in the global marketplace,” said Hennie Heymans, chief executive of DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa. Heymans said combining logistics with financial and digital services would help entrepreneurs move beyond local markets.
For Absa, the appeal lies in the weight small businesses carry in African economies. “SMEs are the engine of inclusive growth in Africa, creating jobs, strengthening communities and expanding the continent’s participation in global trade,” said Faisal Mkhize, the bank’s managing executive for business development in pan-African business banking. Mkhize said the partnership would give customers practical access to trade knowledge, e-commerce tools and sustainable solutions.
Absa, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, is one of Africa’s largest financial services groups, with banking operations in ten countries including Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia. DHL Group, the logistics company’s parent, reported revenues of about €82.9bn in 2025 and employs some 389,000 people worldwide.
The companies said the agreement leaves room for further cooperation, including on new technologies and process improvements intended to widen the support available to small businesses across the continent.
