International trade is dynamic. Traders will come across different rules, different regulations, and even different trade patterns. Yet despite these challenges, traders still require tailor-made solutions for every business situation, according to Mayowa Egunjobi, Vice President at Deutsche Bank.

Mayowa knows this, thanks to her eclectic background. Her career began after a brief stint with an educational service agency, which brought her to the world of banking. But what started as an opportunity to fill a vacancy at the International Operations department has since evolved into a lifelong passion for global trade—with some important lessons learned along the way.

Today she focuses on advising and engaging with financial institutions within Wes Africa as Vice President, Institutional Cash and Trade Finance at Deutsche Bank based in Nigeria.

“I also support the executive management in coordinating the Nigerian franchise with Deutsche Bank as a group with things like strategic planning and revenue drives for the portfolio that we manage. For my portfolio I’m also responsible for the Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) reviews that need to be done, especially with the peculiar compliance requirements involved with this region. Depending on the risk criteria of that country, clients are classified as such, and this is what determines the frequency of the periodic review to be performed as part of our compliance processes. And I also manage the high level engagements with the financial institution/regulatory body to ensure that compliance,” Mayowa explains.

Overcoming the challenges of global trade

International trade is not always a linear career path.

“International trade is a field that covers very diverse areas,” reflects Mayowa. “Import and export trade operations, investment and international project consultancy, global management strategies, market research…”

The key to overcoming those challenges, according to Mayowa, is building relationships. She regularly engages with a wide array of professionals and enterprises to discuss business opportunities and global trends.

In one case, she even facilitated a complex trade deal across different continents—including a local oil company in Liberia, a U.S. oil franchise, and a small business in Nigeria and manufacturer in China.

Mayowa calls this kind of balance and versatility a delicate operation. Her secret weapon: careful research.

“The IOC was divesting their business from Liberia and some other West African countries and needed to sell off the entities to a competent local oil company,” says Mayowa.

“Another small business was struggling to find a reliable supplier for a unique product they wanted to sell and who would accept trade terms convenient for both parties. Through careful research and negotiations, we were able to facilitate the trade business between a manufacturer in China who produced high-quality goods at a competitive price with the Nigerian small business owner.”

In this case, because the IOC was divesting its operation from Liberia and other West African countries, the deal required two parties—so Mayowa used her attention to detail and expertise on trade instruments to facilitate acceptable contract terms to fit into the buying capacity of the local Liberian company in order to purchase the franchise, while also providing confidence to the seller-IOC that they would receive their funds when due.

Matching the two wasn’t necessarily easy. It required a complicated look at the books, as well as an agreement structure that both the IOC and the local Liberian companies would find favorable.

The solution came by finding the right structure for trade instruments and a long-tenured guarantee between two entities.

“This sale involved payments working with their partner local banks,” notes Mayowa. Without that detail of international trade, the deal may not have come together at all.

It’s also important to understand how these complex trade agreements can affect companies and individuals across the globe. Mayowa notes that negotiating and finalizing these high-value trade deals has not only brought significant revenue to her company, but helped optimize supply chains and reduce costs for different companies affected by the trade deal. The result is a contribution to the global economy that’s difficult to put in dollar terms.

The power of relationships in international trade

For Mayowa, putting together the right details like that depends on building relationships to support her career in international trade. Given how dynamic international trade can be—with international rules and regulations constantly changing—these relationships help keep her in the loop and address complex issues by cutting to the heart of negotiations.

Negotiations like these also highlight Mayowa’s love for finding small business solutions for what are sometimes international trade concerns. She believes small businesses—like the local banks in her negotiation between U.S., China, Nigerian and Liberian trade partners—can “thrive and grow by tapping into global markets.”

After all, the significance of the Liberia-U.S.- a deal in question can be seen as a bridge-building endeavor. It brought together the continents with different economic priorities and sets of economic rules. Even so, finding the right instruments and identifying the key local business partners was essential to executing the trade the right way.

That’s where relationships enter the picture.

Whenever mentoring young professionals in international trade, Mayowa recommends relationship-building from the very beginning. Since every trade pattern has its own sets of rules and local needs, building those relationships helps trade experts quickly decipher the problems that may be getting in the way of negotiations.

She says that the power to adapt and provide the best value for clients often depends on the strength of one’s personal connections. And pursuing connections like that can be a career-long endeavor.

Want to learn more about the Certified International Trade Professional (CITP®|FIBP®) designation? See why it’s the world’s most recognized designation for competency and credibility in global business.

Becoming a Certified International Trade Professional (CITP)

“I found out about the CITP four years ago. And at that point in my career, I had already transitioned into the international banking space, and I wanted to do something more. After earning my Certified Trade Finance Professional (CTFP) in 2020, I wanted to take on additional challenges and continue to move up the ladder within the international banking space.

“One of my colleagues mentioned the CITP to me as the highest form of certification for international trade professionals recognized in the Americas.”

“And I said ok, let me give it a try and started reading up on the CITP designation. The more I learned about it the more fascinated I got and decided to go for it.”

One of the biggest milestones in Mayowa’s career was applying to earn her status as a CITP.

“Having the CITP designation demonstrates your expertise and professionalism in the field of international trade,” notes Mayowa.

It not only enhances one’s credibility with peers but boosts reputations among clients and employers as well.

It also demonstrates a commitment to the kinds of skills that have helped her develop her career in international trade.

Looking to the future: What’s next for Mayowa Egunjobi

Mayowa is confident that her CITP designation will have a major, critical role in her career progression. Since relationship-building is the name of the game, having this certification helps establish credibility within new relationships, which can help move the wheels that turn global trade.

She also sees that the international trade market is nothing if not unpredictable. “Dynamic” is an understatement to Mayowa. And because international trade is always fluid, it takes someone with both passion for learning and a willingness to adapt—traits that attracted her to international trade.

In fact, she identified being part of a professional community like this as a great way to help her stay ahead of emerging trends. New trade regulations and innovative market technologies will always be on the move. But Mayowa believes that a steady approach to building the right relationships—and finding the right details in trade negotiations—will always win the day.

For professionals like Mayowa, building a strong network of relationships while staying open to the changing winds of trade dynamics always creates opportunities to build bridges where there were none before.

The post CITP Spotlight: Mayowa Egunjobi – Vice President, Institutional Cash/Trade Finance FI, Deutsche Bank appeared first on Trade Ready.

What should you look out for or expect in the international business world in 2018? Let’s take a look and see what could be dominating the headlines you read over the next twelve months.

1. The CPTPP

Though President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the TPP in January, the remaining 11 countries are working to resurrect the deal as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This deal, if signed, would eliminate approximately 95% of tariffs on trade between these countries, who have a combined GDP of over $10 trillion USD.

In November, Canada surprised the other 10 countries by declining to sign the agreement, to the surprise of the negotiators and the Canadian international trade community. However, amid efforts to diversify exports beyond the American market, it seems unlikely that Canada will continue to drag its heels on an opportunity to gain preferential access to the Japanese market in particular. Expect any final issues to be resolved and the CPTPP to be signed sometime in 2018.

2. Ongoing, contentious Brexit talks

By December 2017, the UK has completed the first phase of Brexit negotiations with the EU, covering issues such as the Irish border, citizens’ rights and financial settlements. The second phase of negotiations will cover the UK’s transition period after formally leaving the EU in March 2019. Discussions over the long-term relationship between the UK and EU will be included in phase three.

This process was complicated on December 13, when several Conservative British MPs joined the opposition to vote for an amendment requiring British Parliament to debate and vote on any final deal with the EU before it can be approved.

The second phase of Brexit negotiations are planned for 2018, and are expected to present few greater challenges than the first phase. The final phase on the long-term relationship between the UK and EU, however, presents several important questions about economic integration and free trade that Britain’s politicians and citizens have not yet agreed upon.

With two sets of challenging negotiations, and the extra hurdle of parliamentary approval, the odds that talks will drag into the final three months before the UK leaves the EU on March 29, 2019 remain high.

3. Sustainable, cleantech exports

If you’re involved in the clean tech and sustainability sector, 2018 should be a strong year for you. Despite the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, global regulations are still trending towards stricter environmental and emissions regulations, requiring businesses to invest in cleaner technology in order to meet those standards. According to EDC President and CEO Benoit Daignault, total global investment in cleantech has now exceeded $1 trillion and will reach $2.5 trillion by 2020.

Canada in particular is placing great emphasis on this industry. The Canadian government promised $1 billion towards clean tech in its 2017 budget for R&D. The Trade Commissioner Service is also hiring 15 new Trade Commissioners to focus specifically on cleantech.

4. India, Brazil, and New Zealand – the rising stars of global trade

If you’re looking for new markets over the next 12 months, Morgan Stanley recommends you take a hard look at India. They argue the country’s increased digitization, new tax laws and younger demographics present a bright future, and predict 7.5% GDP growth in 2018. Morgan Stanley also predicts that India will be the world’s fastest growing economy over the coming decade.

Brazil will also see a quick recession recovery, growing an expected by 3.1% in 2018, according to the Brazilian government.

If you’re more interested in fully developed markets, Forbes ranked New Zealand second on its 2018 Best Countries for Doing Business rankings, citing its 3.6% economic growth in 2017, among other factors. The country also ranked highly in several categories for ease of doing business, including first in IP rights, bureaucracy/red tape levels surrounding business, and Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index.

5. Meaningful action to reduce oil dependency

As Venezuela continues to suffer through the collapse of its oil-dependent economy, and the U.S. plans to become a net exporter of oil within 10 years, several oil-dependent economies are taking steps to diversify their economies.

In Russia, Putin’s approval levels are dropping as the economy struggles through lower oil revenues. Despite making fiscal changes to reduce the national budget’s dependence on oil revenues, he may push for new measures to improve his chances in the country’s 2018 presidential elections.

Saudi Arabia has plans to sell about 5% of Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company, through an IPO in 2018 and expects to generate up to $100 billion for the country’s Vision 2030 program, designed to shift the Saudi economy away from oil dependency towards tech and entertainment services.

Nigeria and Angola, meanwhile, are looking to agriculture to reduce their oil dependency issues. Nigeria, dependent on oil for 70% of government revenues, has launched a new program to increase yam exports to Europe and the U.S., as the country produces 60% of the world’s yams. Angola are instead focused on a broader approach to tap into their agricultural potential, which includes producing more cereals, milk, chicken, cassava, and other products.

6. Banks taking on blockchain

It is practically impossible these days to tune into the business or financial news and not hear a story about the latest blockchain or cryptocurrency development. Blockchain technology, allowing multiple players to have access to a live, unalterable digital ledger, offers game-changing possibilities for international trade finance. In 2018 this buzzworthy fintech is moving beyond Silicon Valley start-ups, into the mainstream world of global financial institutions.

In March, 2017, we reported on how banks were working to bring the advantages of blockchain technology to their corporate clients. In May, the R3 Consortium, made up of of 70 of the world’s biggest financial institutions and created to research and develop blockchain adoption, announced it had secured its largest ever investment. Then in October 2017, seven major banks partnered with R3 and Finastra to develop a blockchain-based marketplace for syndicated loans. On December 6, Amazon joined the blockchain party, announcing a partnership with R3 to allow the Corda platform to be the first distributed ledger technology to operate on the Amazon Web Services Platform.

What will we see in 2018? Swiss global financial company UBS has led an initiative to create a “utility settlement coin” that would represent each major national currency. If this coin is launched, the Corda platform could be adapted to facilitate its use.

IBM is working on launching their own blockchain platform that would allow banks to rapidly clear global payment transactions. There are also several start-ups working on digitizing the bill of lading process.

2018 could be the year some of the blockchain-based payment initiatives move from development to adoption.

7. Adoption of futuristic supply chain technology

Machine learning, automation and robotics, self-driving vehicles, new tracking technology – all of these futuristic supply chain tools will see major developments and implementation in 2018.

The past year was a big one for self-driving vehicles, culminating with the reveal of Tesla’s new fully electric semi, gaining pre-orders from big players such as PepsiCo, UPS and Walmart. Companies invested over $1 billion into self-driving and other trucking technologies in 2017.

Speaking of investing in supply chain technology, over $4 billion was invested in AI by U.S. venture capitalists in the past year. One application that has seen immediate return for companies adopting machine learning capable AI is Multi-Echelon Inventory Optimization (MEIO), which has been shown to reduce inventories by 30% while maintaining or improving customer fill rates.

Robots will also continue to play more of a role in warehouses in 2018. While some are increasingly capable of working independently, replacing human workers on the floor, others are working alongside humans, or being controlled by humans using VR applications. There’s no doubt that the demand for the skills needed to work with robotics will continue to rise in the year ahead.

8. Planning for the possibility of a world without NAFTA

The sixth round of NAFTA talks is set to kick off in Montreal January 23. But as the negotiations near, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of positivity. The first five rounds reportedly saw very little progress, putting even more pressure on this next round.

What’s the problem? The U.S. is seemingly immovable on five issues that pose major problems for the agreement’s other two member countries, Canada and Mexico.

The five issues include:

• Removal of reciprocity in government procurement at the sub-national level
• Changes to the rules of origin in the auto sector
• Elimination of the independent dispute resolution clause
• End of Canadian supply management of the dairy, eggs and poultry industries
• Addition of a “sunset clause” on NAFTA itself

“NAFTA, by itself, will not collapse,” said Mexico’s Economy Minister ldefonso Guajardo in October, but even if Mr. Guajardo is right, it may change drastically from what we have in place today.

If this really does spell the end of NAFTA, the Canadian auto, pulp and paper, chemicals, mining, aerospace and oil and gas industries are likely to be most affected, according to BMO chief economist Douglas Porter.

Even without NAFTA, trade between the three nations is inevitable. Supply chains between Canada and Mexico criss-cross the U.S. How businesses adapt to the realities of a new – or non-existent – NAFTA, is something we’ll be watching closely in 2018.

9. Cyber threats and IP risks

As technology gets more sophisticated and ingrained in our work and personal lives, so too does the threat of cyber security breaches, which in turn compromises our intellectual property. Sixty-four percent of companies surveyed reported some experience of web-based attacks in the past year. Companies of all sizes are targeted and face the risk of cyber threats from simply being connected to the internet. And the costs are large – the average cost of a data breach in Canada is a jaw-dropping $6.03M.

So what types of threats are growing in 2018? Phishing, social engineering attacks, malicious code, botnets, denial of service attacks and ransomeware are all on the rise.

Ransomware in particular is growing in frequency, attacks rose an alarming 50% in 2016. Demonstrative of the damage a ransomeware attack can cause was the aftermath of the WannaCry attack in May 2017. Hundreds of thousands of individuals lost access to their data, compromising intellectual property, private customer information, and disrupting commercial processes.

As a business, it has never been more crucial to include cybersecurity programs directly in your strategy, and engage IT professionals to help cover all aspects of your web-based properties.

10. Demand for global trade skills higher than ever

Despite continuing turmoil and uncertainty on the global political stage, Canadian businesses still hold an optimistic outlook about their export opportunities. According to Export Development Canada’s Fall 2017 Survey, the majority of respondents believe that export sales will increase in 2018, citing new opportunities, growing demand, and expansion into new markets as stimulating factors.

As more businesses of all sizes get involved in international markets, the demand for talent skilled in global trade processes, is also growing.

“We hear from exporters all the time that knowledge is one of the most important tools for building international success,” said EDC Senior VP, Business Development Mairead Lavery.

In 2017, the FITTskills international trade training program underwent a major update, including the addition of 60% new content to reflect the changes we’ve seen in technology, ecommerce, trade agreements and more. In October, FITT also partnered with EDC to expand access to the available resources for businesses of all sizes looking to take advantage of international opportunities.

There’s no doubt that we all face an exciting year ahead, full of innovation, an ever-shifting global political environment, and risks, alongside ample new opportunities for business growth.

What trends will you be watching in 2018?

The post 10 global trade trends we’ll be watching in 2018 appeared first on Trade Ready.

Olufemi Boyede, CITP®|FIBP®, Managing Director and CEO of Koinonia Ventures Ltd. (recently incorporated as Koinonia Global Services  Inc. in Canada), is one of Nigeria’s foremost international trade experts, with specializations in export business development, advocacy  and trade promotion.

With over 30 years of experience, Olufemi has risen to become a leader in the trade community. He is also a passionate advocate of closer trade relations between Canada and countries all across Africa, particularly Nigeria.

Olufemi began his international trade career at a very young age by assisting his mother, who worked as an itinerant trader across northern Nigeria. At around age seven, he was already keeping his mother’s financial books and monitoring credit payments from her customers.

These childhood experiences instilled both a passion for trade and a conviction within him of its importance.

The peculiar uniqueness of this ’street-wise’ education is that I have a practical approach to trade, whether it be the formulation of trade-oriented policies or the practical aspects including market access, penetration, organizing trade missions and events, etc.

Despite lacking an economics teacher at the high-school level and pursuing a French degree at University —one of six languages he speaks, along with English, Yoruba, Lingala, Hausa and Nupe—Olufemi followed his passion and pursued an international trade career.

In the early years of his career, he worked hard to secure new export contracts in Zaire (now Congo D.R.) and Senegal for a number of Nigerian companies. Olufemi spearheaded a national program to export Nigerian handicrafts to Germany, and he led Nigerian delegations at several international trade fairs.

On top of his quickly growing hands-on experience, he also earned a Certificate in General Management.

In 1996, Olufemi became Export Manager for Stanmark Cocoa Processing Company Ltd. (a full subsidiary of Cadbury Nigeria) in Lagos. He quickly became a crucial figure in the Nigerian cocoa industry, and remains deeply influential to this day.

Most recently, he was one of only two people given the Cocoa Advocate Award at an October 2014 summit for all of the key industry leaders and government ministers involved in the Nigeria’s cocoa sector.

Olufemi believes the cocoa industry, along with other non-oil resources, can grow to become a significant alternative to Nigeria’s decreasing oil trade, and that it will help to diversify the national economy.

In the past ten years, Olufemi has balanced his time and priorities between the public and private sectors.

On top of running Koinonia Ventures Ltd. for over ten years, he has sat on various government committees related to commerce and international trade, and served as an advisor to four different government ministers who were responsibility for trade.

He was, until June, 2014 when he moved to Canada, Technical Advisor to the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and is the Country Facilitator for Nigeria in the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) Trade and Enterprises Network.

Olufemi is also a passionate advocate of international trade, and has used several mediums to educate and inform others on various topics. He has written or co-written three books on international trade, and written or contributed to over 100 newspaper articles.

He is a frequent guest on Nigerian radio and television programs dedicated to national economic development, and he started and still runs a weekly television show called “Export Digest”, which airs across Nigeria.

Olufemi is also a strong advocate of encouraging Nigerian women to enter and thrive in business.

He founded and was the first National Coordinator of the Network of Nigerian Women Exporters of Services, (funded by the International Trade Centre, Geneva) and co-wrote one of his books, along with Dorothy Riddle, about strategies to help women entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

Olufemi applied for the CITP®|FIBP® designation, which he describes as the “apogee of international recognition” in international trade, after working closely with two other CITPs, Diane Girard and Doreen Conrad, and deciding he felt he wanted to be recognized as a leader in his industry.

He describes his reaction to earning his designation as “absolute satisfaction and the euphoria of personal achievement.”

I look forward to building new friendships and partnerships in Canada through FITT and my new designation, and using this to explore the very robust network that I have built in Nigeria’s public and private sectors.

The post Olufemi Boyede, CITP|FIBP – Managing Director and CEO appeared first on Trade Ready.