Financing exports in East Africa

In every export business, the exporter must be assured of payment before parting with goods and services. It is the payment that will cover the exporter’s expenses and also guarantee profit.
In export trade, payment is not as straight forward and certain as in local trade.
This is so because of the fact that different people, countries, cultures, regulations, trade customs and other regulatory authorities are involved.
Several factors make payment uncertain in export business. These include the distance between countries of exporters and importers, the fact that exporters and importers hardly meet, the different currencies involved and different tariff and customs duty structures.