The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is currently causing an unprecedented global crisis, and its total impact on the world’s economy and trade at large, as well as on the way all people of every country live and work is still to become apparent.
In the emerging markets’ trade challenges are not something new, however the current Covid-19 pandemic situation the world is facing at the moment has added an additional layer of complexity to cross-border trade in Africa and the Middle East.
At BlueBlox we have extensive experience in trade compliance and service our clients through a wide-ranging coverage of both knowledge and networks in emerging markets in Africa and the Middle East.
We are ready to help you in these unparalleled times where cross-border and international trade has been hugely affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and can even support your business during this downtime to strategise about your business’s trade lifeline post-Covid-19 world.
How have we helped others during this Pandemic time?
We are Local
In the last month, an operations manager turned to us, feeling hopeless, not knowing what to do once the lockdown hit his operations in most countries in Africa. He couldn’t go to the countries himself anymore (due to the Coronavirus travel restrictions), as he would normally do to sort out the issues himself in the local markets.
At this time, BlueBlox stepped in for him, as we have trade consultants in the field who can do the work for him on the ground, without anyone crossing borders while this Coronavirus travel restrictions continue. Maybe he wouldn’t need to travel to the local markets in the future…
We are used to constant change
One of our manufacturing clients we normally support on valuation issues became concerned the moment the Covid-19 pandemic started shutting down government departments. Their shipments were stuck and they feared that they won’t be able to continue their valuation discussions with the authorities due to Covid-19, as the authorities were not available for meetings with all officials working from home.
Per BlueBlox’s DNA, “we never give up”, so we reached out to the Head of Customs in the country to ensure that the discussions could continue, via teleconferencing. Ultimately, successfully resolving the case for our client and enabling them to continue trade in the market.
We are informed
Only last week a trade compliance executive turned to us, fed up with continually confronting threats and regulatory issues arising from goods being imported and wanting to prevent these issues from constantly reoccurring. BlueBlox immediately understood the issues and thoroughly reviewed all the relevant national laws and procedures. We then approached Customs on behalf of the client, demonstrated the gaps in the law and cleared up the confusion for them – Customs promptly allowed our client to import the goods into the market smoothly and also compliantly.
In addition to the examples above, we have deep knowledge of regulatory and legislative requirements in more than 85 countries in Africa and the Middle East.
In this tough time, if you find yourself wondering how to navigate your supply chain through the many difficulties in Africa and the Middle East, or feel stuck about how to do your cross-border trade both smoothly and compliantly, please reach out to us, as we would love to help.
You are not alone; we are together in this!
For more info on how we can assist your business, please contact us with any enquiries.
