Canadian and African businesswomen unite to encourage international trade

By Khalid Magram

Africa and design have been two longtime passions of Kathleen Holland, president of KMH International, who is using her expertise as a market strategist and business consultant to assist small African business enterprises to enter the market and maintain successful relationships with distributors and retailers in Canada and globally.

For Holland, a 2009 nominee of the Organization of Women in International Trade’s Joanna Townsend Award for an Export Champion, it all started with a Canadian trade mission to Africa in 2002. She says the contacts and information she gathered during the mission proved to be pivotal in developing an international business plan. Another pivotal point came after the trip, when Holland was introduced to the non-profit Canadian and African Business Women’s Alliance (CAABWA), in which she found the mentorship she was seeking.

Canadian and African women created the CAABWA, which fosters business linkages between Canada and countries in Africa. Its mandate is to support African women who are entrepreneurs in their efforts to participate in international trade. One of the major opportunities that CAABWA offers is its internship program. Holland, who is now a board member with the organization, advises anyone who is interested in working in Africa to apply for the CAABWA internship, which is awarded though Canadian International Development Agency.

Holland also credits CAABWA for her own professional success: “CAABWA has played a very important role in my career working in Africa,” she says of becoming an integral part of the growth and success of small businesses on the continent. Holland’s contribution is in design, where she helps to transform African art into high-end home design and decor products, which sell internationally.

Holland also created Design Africa, a brand-led marketing vehicle that supports international market access for product designers and handicraft manufacturers from Africa.

The endeavours have taken the global businesswoman to several African countries, including South Africa, Ghana, Senegal, Swaziland, Zambia, Ethiopia, Mali, Uganda, Kenya and Burkina Faso, which hosts the continent’s largest craft festival every two years. Gone Rural, based in Swaziland, is one of the companies that has benefited from Holland’s expertise.

The non-profit organization, which creates unique home accessories, is the source of sustainable home-based incomes for 740 rural Swazi women, most of whom are caring for orphans with HIV/AIDS. Despite such a daunting task, the attitude of these women is what Holland holds dear: “My heart overflows when I have the opportunity to work with such inspiring women,” she says. “Theirs is the most amazing story.”