Trade Academy Trade Promotion

The Trade Academy Trade Promotion is a one-month programme for professionals working to promote trade in a developing country. This free course is conducted in hybrid format and weaves together trade promotion with trade policy.

The National Board of Trade's mission is to create favourable conditions for developing countries to participate in international trade and contribute to sustainable development. One part of this is Trade Academy – educational initiatives aimed at capacity development. Trade Academy Trade Promotion is a training programme designed to support companies in their efforts to increase exports.

Trade Academy Trade Promotion

Programme duration: 1 month
Study format: Hybrid (distance learning/Stockholm)
Suitable for: Employees of trade promotion organisations
Language: English
Price: Free of charge

Who can participate in the programme?

Trade Academy Trade Promotion is suitable for anyone working in and representing a developing country. You should work in a trade promotion organisation, or in an organisation that supports companies in export and international trade. Your daily tasks should include trade promotion, international trade and direct or indirect support to companies. As you will be away from your work for some time, your employer must approve your participation in the training programme. When selecting training programme participants, the National Board of Trade focuses on creating a suitable group composition with a balanced gender distribution.

Objectives and focus of the programme

The programme provides knowledge about trade promotion and how trade policy affects international trade. After completing the programme, you will have enhanced your knowledge of the global trade market and the importance of trade in meeting the goals of the 2030 Agenda. You will have the tools to succeed in export promotion and trade with the EU. You will also have a better understanding of how other countries work with trade promotion.

A hybrid programme with interactive elements

The programme is a mixture of self-study performed remotely and instructor-led training in Stockholm. The programme is interactive and you are expected to engage in all elements. The digital lessons consist of text content, videos and interactive elements, which you work through at your own pace. The physical meetings will include group discussions and case studies. You will also participate in study visits to Swedish companies.

Course content

The following topics are analysed and discussed during the programme:

• Trade policy architecture
  Trade agreements at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level.
• Road to export
  Five modules that include classification, trade statistics, mapping out the target market segments, players and trends, monitoring requirements, preparing for market entry, and getting ready to promote companies and sectors.
• Export promotion in practice
  A chance to learn more about the Swedish way of promoting exports, as an example.
• The EU internal market
  Including EU contact points and the European Green Deal.

A four-phase programme

The programme is divided into four phases. In the first two, you will acquire new knowledge, which you can then apply in a practical exercise in the subsequent phases.

Phase 1: Trade today and trade policy (digital, approx. 4 days)
Individual e-learning on trade and trade policy. The self-study component takes about 3 hours. You then participate in digital discussions online.

Phase 2: Road to Export (digital, approx. 4 days)
A self-paced export readiness training. Concludes with an interactive digital session.

Phase 3: Assignment work at home (digital, approx. 12 days)
Remote group work. Submitted assignment is a requirement to participate in Phase 4.

Phase 4: Export promotion (on site/Stockholm, approx. 5 days)
Instruction on trade promotion and Open Trade Gate Sweden, as well as study visits. Presentation of group work and subsequent discussions.

The National Board of Trade also organises Trade Academy Trade Policy programme. It focuses on capacity development – strengthening civil servants at trade policy institutions in these countries so that they can contribute to institutional change in their country