Trade for Development Centre is a programme of Enabel, the Belgian development agency.
The Trade for Development Centre aims to empower MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises ) and producer organisations engaged in fair and sustainable trade and offers them all the tools they need to develop economically.
Many of these organizations have a lot of potential, but lack the necessary marketing and management knowledge. So that their potential remains underused. At TDC, we believe these skills can be acquired. This is why we created a unique, participative and tailor-made coaching track.
TDC’s coaching program aims to strengthen the capacities of these organizations in the field of management (financial, organizational, governance and marketing (positioning, market access, communication, sales). All this combined with financial support to implement the defined strategies.
Our goal is to provide producers with the means, knowledge and skills to come up with their own solutions, develop strategies, innovate and undertake business. This is the only way for producers to grow their business in a sustainable way.
Coaching is delivered on-site, at the premises of the organisation, by specialists in marketing, financial and business management. TDC’s support strives to be unbiased and neutral. MSME’s best benefit is the starting point of the reflection. The support does not target specific markets, it focuses on preparing the organisation to face the markets they target.
A preliminary training in data capturing aims at making a first business review. During this training, a first analysis of the organisation is made, looking at market aspects (SWOT analysis, market analysis, etc.), financial aspects (cost calculation, reading accounts, etc.) and organisational aspects (HR, governance, etc.). The trainer leads the participants through a full business review, to help them understand how their business is evolving and come to new insights into its operations, financials and position in the market.
After the preliminary training, TDC provides a full coaching track to each selected MSME consisting of:
Coaching in financial and business management
Customised and tailor-made for each individual MSME, covering all organisational and financial aspects such as business review, elaboration/improvement of the business plan, elaboration of budget forecasts, realisation of financial and organisational management monitoring tools, financing policy of the organisation, cash flow, stock, analysis/monitoring of risks, etc.
Coaching in marketing
Customised and tailor-made for each individual MSME, covering all marketing phases such as internal & external marketing analysis, definition of a strategy, target and positioning, formulation of the marketing mix, facilitation of promotion & communication, facilitation of prospection of new customers, etc.
Financial support
A grant is awarded by TDC to the MSME which allows them to fund activities defined during the coaching and in line with its strategy, such as the acquisition of management tools, product development, trainings, design and realisation of promotion and communication tools, participation to trade fairs, etc.
Between 2018 and 2022, TDC offers support in Africa to both:
