7 Tips For Female Entrepreneurs To Leverage International Trade

“When women trade, women succeed economically. With 95 percent of world consumers and 80 percent of world purchasing power outside of the United States, international trade is an untapped resource for women-owned businesses,” the International Trade Administration says. Trade helps companies be more financially stable, stay in business longer, earn more, create more jobs, and be “more resilient to financial shocks,” the ITA adds, emphasizing that “encouraging women business owners and entrepreneurs to trade across borders is key to achieving economic equality for women.”

Yet, only 51% of women-led businesses are importing or exporting, according to the Centre for Economic Policy Research, compared to 79% of male-led businesses.

Model deals for import-export projects

Here are a couple of examples of creative trade deals that women-owned – and all – businesses might emulate to achieve their financial (and energy and climate) goals:

Thanks to a creative, multi-stakeholder deal backed by the Export Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank), much of Angola will have electricity – and clean, carbon-free power – over the next several years. This huge $2 billion deal, which was named “Deal of the Year” this year by EXIM Bank, will be a huge boost to some of the 53% of Angolans that currently lack electricity. The International Energy Agency says 774 million people lack access to electricity across the globe. That’s three-quarters of a billion people. Imagine trying to live your life and run your business without electricity.

This deal is part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII) that President Biden announced at the G7 Summit in 2022 to help bring digital and sustainable energy infrastructure to middle- and low-income countries. This deal will bring “solar mini-grids, solar cabins with telecommunications capabilities, and home power kits” to Angola, using $1.3 billion in exports from U.S. companies, and create about 4,000 jobs in Angola, according to the White House fact sheet. These are jobs that will upskill Angolans for long-term benefit, SunAfrica’s CEO Adam Cortese explained on my energy panel at the EXIM Bank conference last week. SunAfrica’s website says the project will serve 500,000 Angolan homes.

Another ground-breaking deal we discussed at my EXIM Bank energy session is a 53.4 megawatt solar power project in Olanchito, Honduras, which President Biden talked about at the G20 Summit in 2022. It was awarded the Renewable Energy Deal of the Year by EXIM Bank in December 2022. The primary exporter is Ohio-based First Solar.

7 Tips to create in-win deals

Here are seven tips from the key players in these deals, for how women-owned businesses – or any U.S.-based businesses – can create win-win trade deals. We discussed them on my panels at the EXIM Bank 2023 conference this past week:

1. Do it in phases: The first phase of the Angola development is a $900 million direct loan from EXIM Bank to construct two solar energy power plants. This phase will “generate over 500 megawatts of renewable power” in Angola, as well as increase its access to clean power, and enable exports from U.S.-based solar suppliers, as well as reduce Angola’s carbon emissions, according to the EXIM Bank.

2. Deconstruct other deals to find creative structures: Analyzing deals like these in Angola and Honduras, for example, you can see potential deal structures and types of partners for your own projects. You might map them out to see clearly which organizations are doing what, where the funding is coming from, how it’s structured, and the flow of the project. It will likely spark ideas for your projects.

3. Find partners: Networking is key. These deals brought together multiple partners, who said they plan to do more deals together. The Angola deal includes: Florida-based solar developer SunAfrica, Angolan developer Omatapalo and ING Capital and EXIM Bank for the financing. The Honduras developer is CIHESA, Ohio-based First Solar is the U.S. project developer, and the financing is coming from JP Morgan, Banco Atlantida and EXIM Bank.

4. Build trust: These relationships take time to develop and build trust, they all insisted. It takes integrity, honesty, realistic promises and expectations, and understanding of the pace and complexity of these projects and deals. It was clear from how these folks interacted that they are a team.

5. Understand the culture: It’s critical to understand the culture of the country and people you are negotiating and partnering with, whether they are in Honduras or Houston or Honolulu – and to manage the language barriers. For women business leaders, it’s also important to find out their values around women, as Kristin Hedger, Senior Vice President of Killdeer Manufacturing in North Dakota, explained on my panel about women-owned businesses and international trade at the EXIM conference. She joked on stage about how her being so tall and from North Dakota was an advantage in doing business with men in Iraq, for example.

6. Be transparent and hold each other accountable: Especially in these complex international trade deals, transparency and accountability are vital. Reporting requirements are strict, with the tracking of every dollar. Publicly-traded companies will also need to report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

7. Leverage resources: There are a lot of resources available for deal structure ideas and financing, as well as projects looking for partners. Reach out to the EXIM Bank, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Trade Representative, and your financial institution for help. Professional trade associations may have support, too, as Marjorie Chorlins of the U.S Chamber of Commerce explained on my panel about women-owned businesses at the conference.

There are resources associated with the clean energy economy and infrastructure, like the ones in these two deals, so you might consider how your company or projects support that work.

The key is to assume you can find a way to get it done and keep asking for ideas, resources, support, and who you should meet. EXIM Bank has the Council on Advancing Women in Business and resources for women-owned businesses that might be good places to start your import-export journey or get your questions answered.