As part of the workshop held in Cotonou, over 100 local businesses left with more knowledge on “How to export with the ZLECA”.

20 Beninese trainers have also learned to lead their own workshops, in order to be able to continue to disseminate their know-how in free trade to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). According to Ilyas Choubaili, an ITC expert who led the training of trainers, “exporting is not easy for a company.” According to him, you have to be prepared, be ready to export, optimize cross-border trade, logistics, penetrate the market and carry out risk studies. It is also crucial to understand how to finance your intra-African export.” The companies worked with the trainers to assess their export readiness for intra-African trade. They were introduced to the main logistical challenges and opportunities and also learned to select export markets with high potential and to identify and comply with export documents and intra-African trade regulations