SIPPO South Africa: Strong Partnerships for Export Promotion

These partnerships ensure broad regional coverage and allow SIPPO to tailor support to sector-specific needs. The partner BSOs include: 

• The dtic (Department of Trade, Industry and Competition)  

• Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal (TIKZN) 

• Cape Town & Western Cape Tourism, Trade & Investment (Wesgro) 

• Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) 

• Cosmetic Export Council of South Africa (CECOSA) 

The team values the strong and productive relationships they have built with all five partner BSOs. Regular engagements both virtual and face-to-face ensure active collaboration and a strong alignment with BSO priorities. Each organisation is highly committed and actively engaged in the SIPPO programme. Joint ideas and projects are regularly developed through open dialogue and collaborative planning, ensuring that SIPPO’s support aligns with the priorities and needs expressed by each BSO—within the framework of SIPPO’s mandate. 

(Photo: Capacity development workshop with partner BSO, in preparation for Country Pavilion at SIAL trade fair)

Capacity Development and Shared Learning 

SIPPO South Africa supports its partner BSOs with capacity development interventions to enhance their capabilities and service delivery to provide quality export promotion services for their exporters and potential exporters. This includes: 

• Coaching for trade fair preparation and participation  

• Selling and buyer missions 

• Use of market intelligence methodologies and tools 

• Enhancing market and sector knowledge within Processed Foods and Natural Ingredients  

The methodologies shared by SIPPO for trade fair preparation and participation are now being actively applied by the BSOs. Their companies are benefiting from improved services and support in using social media (especially LinkedIn) for trade fair promotion and in identifying and targeting potential importers, as part of their preparation process. 

Exchange and benchmarking between South African BSOs and their counterparts in other SIPPO countries (such as Colombia, Peru, Tunisia and Vietnam) has also added value. These exchanges, facilitated by SIPPO, take place virtually on request from the partner BSOs, as well as in person—at international trade fairs and during SIPPO’s annual Import Promotion Forum in Switzerland. Through the “BSO Connection Project”, South African BSOs are expanding their networks with European peers, opening doors for future collaboration and knowledge-sharing. 

(Photo: Participation by four partner BSOs at SIPPO Import Forum in Lausanne) 

A key priority for SIPPO South Africa has been to strengthen coordination amongst its partner BSOs—namely the dtic, Wesgro, TIKZN, ECDC and CECOSA—and to encourage joint export promotion activities for more streamlined and effective implementation. This collaborative approach has led to improved synergies, enhanced cooperation, and greater cost-effectiveness through the sharing of resources and experiences. These benefits were clearly demonstrated during the last Anuga trade fair in Germany, where the dtic—SIPPO’s strategic BSO partner—acknowledged SIPPO’s vital role in facilitating joint participation. 

(Photo: On-site coaching at Anuga trade fair)

Collaboration with TRIC network partner, IPD: Market Intelligence in Practice 

Since its entry into South Africa in 2023, the German Import Promotion Desk (IPD) has developed a close and promising partnership with SIPPO. This cooperation is laying a strong foundation for joint support to BSO’s at the meso level. 

A joint Market Intelligence intervention  was identified as a potential area for collaboration between SIPPO and IPD, with the first activities taking place earlier this year through a joint project, which included a MI (Market Intelligence) workshop for BSOs and on-site support to SIPPO’s partner BSO, CECOSA, during the In-cosmetics Global 2025 trade fair in Amsterdam. 

Reflecting on the experience, the CEO of CECOSA stated: 

“As CEO of the Cosmetic Export Council of South Africa, I had the privilege of participating in market intelligence training facilitated by SIPPO South Africa and IPD, from 8–10 April 2025, at the In-Cosmetics Global Trade Fair. This immersive experience was enriched by the guidance of a Natural Ingredients expert.” 

She highlighted the value of engaging with European buyers to better understand sourcing strategies and sustainability expectations, noting: 

“These learnings will be instrumental in supporting South African producers to enhance their competitiveness and align with European market expectations for Indigenous Ingredients.” 

It has been emphasized that the cooperation between IPD and SIPPO South Africa has run very smoothly from the beginning, with IPD and SIPPO being extremely transparent about their work in South Africa, sharing and discussing objectives and workplans and always communicating as a team towards the South African counterparts. In addition, regular coordination meetings ensure alignment and a unified approach between the IPD and SIPPO teams.   

 Digitalisation: “From theory to practice” 

In the field of digitalisation, BSO officials have improved their knowledge and skills in conducting sector round tables, webinars and undertaking virtual selling missions and virtual trade fairs. They also benefit from access to SIPPO’s Trade Promotion Academy (TPA), an e-learning platform offering practical modules, templates, and guides on export promotion. To support effective use of the platform, SIPPO South Africa regularly conducts information sessions with BSO staff across divisions, in collaboration with ITC and sector experts demonstrating how the TPA modules can be applied in real-world scenarios—effectively bridging the gap between theory and practice.  
 
Sustainability: Building BSO Capacity for Sustainable Trade 

BSO officials welcome SIPPO’s guidance and knowledge sharing within the important topic of Sustainability, empowering them to be better prepared to advise their exporters on meeting sustainability criteria for market access to Switzerland and the greater Europe. This has been appreciated by the BSOs being capacitated to support their companies to be better prepared to meet with potential customers, as well as having sound knowledge to properly communicate their sustainability efforts and compliance to buyers in Europe.  

Institutional Strengthening of BSOs  

As part of institutional strengthening of BSOs, SIPPO conducted Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA) workshops with four partner BSOs. BSO officials have described this intervention as “really beneficial” and an “eye-opener” in terms of improving and strengthening their services, reporting and results measurement within their organisations.  
 
One recurring challenge faced by the SIPPO Team in South Africa while working with BSOs, has been staff turnover, which can disrupt the continuity and long-term impact of SIPPO’s interventions. To address this, SIPPO South Africa launched an initiative focused on “Succession Planning and Handover Process and Procedures” for use with existing staff, or onboarding of new staff within the respective BSOs. To date this activity has been completed with two partner BSOs, with co-creation of the process and the development of a knowledge repository of resource materials and Standard Operating Procedures. This project will be completed with the other three partner BSOs going forward. 

Collaboration with Swiss Cooperation Projects in the Natural Ingredients Sector 

SIPPO South Africa also has a strong focus on collaboration with the Swiss Cooperation Projects (SCPs), funded by SECO, in South Africa, especially with those SCPs active in the biotrade sector which includes the ABS Compliant Biotrade in South(ern) Africa (ABioSA) project, the Global Quality and Standards Programme (GQSP-SA) and the Swiss South African Intellectual Property Project (SSAIP). Thereby strengthening synergies with the so-called “4 Sister SECO Projects” in South Africa, which has been described as a best practice example. 
 
ITC Global SME Ministerial Meeting in Johannesburg 

SIPPO South Africa recently collaborated with SECO and ITC on a joint Swiss booth at the Global SME Ministerial Meeting, held in Johannesburg from 22–24 July 2025. The event was honoured by the presence of Ms. Helene Budliger Artieda, State Secretary for Economic Affairs of Switzerland, and Ms. Monica Rubiolo Gonzalez, Head of Trade Promotion at SECO. 

The journey of SIPPO South Africa is first and foremost about people working together—partners who share knowledge, overcome challenges, and celebrate successes along the way. With trusted partnerships at the core, SIPPO South Africa looks ahead with optimism—continuing to open doors, build bridges, and create opportunities that leave a lasting impact on the country’s exporters and their communities.