5 Recommended Trade Finance Blogs for Solopreneurs and Microenterprises to Follow
Trade Finance for (No) Dummies 🌎
Today, I share my list of favorite blogs about trade finance. I curated this list based on how reading them can benefit solopreneurs and microentrepreneurs.
This first review depends on the content of the blogs and also their structure. Both vary depending on the specific topic and purpose. Yet, there are some common elements found in well-structured blogs. Overall, I search for and rank these blogs according to
Clear and compelling content for global solopreneurs
Easiness to read (for non-technical audiences)
Images and videos to enhance the content keep readers captivated
Links to relevant information sources
A summary of the main points of the blog post
Bonus points for blogs offering extra resources or free tools (data). And encouraging their reader to take action or engage with the content in some way. I based each ranking on a five-star score system. So let us dive right into the top 5 out of 20 blogs I keep track of on trade finance.
#1 Blog - Contour ****
Contour is a financial technology startup based in Singapore. They run a blog for international trade SMEs. They issue a new article on average once a month. The latest post is about how the industry faces a new wave of investor interest in trade finance.
What I like about this blog is that it tracks the current trends in the international trade industry. The content is rich and diverse about trade finance. And they are not too aggressive at pushing their own products. Their conclusions (and call-to-action) are efficient and strike well with the reader.
Yet, they could add more and better images and videos (and it is not interactive). The current ones do not give much context or are not available in each blog post. Lastly, they do not reference all their sources well.
#2 PrimaTrade | News & Blogs ****
PrimaTrade is a financial technology startup based in Great Britain. They run a blog about their platform and international trade themes. One new post comes out per week, on average. It seems that they are on a break right now. Their latest post was on supply chain finance focused on their commercial solution.
What I like about this blog is that their content is precise enough to be an easy read for all solopreneurs. The themes on their blog are great places to find resources about trade finance and shipping. Charts and tables make it easier for the reader to follow the content.
This blog could have ranked highed but it is too way too much commercially centered around their platform (that’s also normal). They still have room to add more videos and make its content more interactive.
#3 ADB Blog ***
This blog belongs to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Its content addresses all international trade enterprises of all sizes. They issue a new article on average once a month. Their latest post was about how the pandemic had a devastating impact on trade- and the trade finance that powers it.
What I like the most about this blog is its content. It is well-written, documented, and an easy read for solopreneurs. And all the sources are well-referenced. ADB is also a prime source of information and data by itself.
Yet, there are no videos, and their images are generic and look a bit dry. They are also lacking any clear conclusion and call-to-actions. Their three stars out of five scores have room to improve.Â
This blog targets firms from emerging countries, but solopreneurs should still read it. You remain informed on various big issues in the development of international trade. And not only in Asia.
#4 Drip Capital | Articles & Blogs on International Trade & Export-Import ***
Drip Capital is a financial technology startup based in India and the USA. They run a blog for international trade MSMEs. They post new articles several times a month. The initial focus was on the home market, but they expanded their audience worldwide.
What I particularly like is that their content is vast and global. It is an easy read for export-import entrepreneurs. On the plus side, they also have categorized their themes well. They have a structure like Wikipedia. They reference all important technical terms and definitions, also with images. If you need more jargon then this is your go-to place- outside of my section below 😊.
Whereas other blogs listed here gear more toward SMEs, this one targets microenterprises. Yet, they do not enjoy the top spot on my list. They do not reference all their sources. Their conclusions including call-to-actions are also not compelling.Â
#5 Trade Finance Global - Knowledge Hub and Blog ***
Trade Finance Global is a financial technology startup based in Great Britain. Their blog is for international trade companies of all sizes, and they issue new articles several times a day. Their latest post was about how incoterms govern business-to-business transport and delivery practices.
What I like about this blog is that it covers several areas of international trade and trade finance. The content is well structured, and they run an insightful Q&A section to find many resources. On the plus side, they also categorized their themes well. They structure the articles like Investopedia, and with more quality and graphs. Yet, this blog suits larger international trade enterprises than solopreneurs.
The content ranks high as it is global and very easy to read. There are also a lot of great pictures and videos. But their content has room to become more interactive.
20 Trade Finance Blogs
My top 5 had a longer list of contenders. The table below lists the full ranking.
When I set up the blog list, I noticed that most of the top spots belonged to financial technology startups. At a first glance, this might look odd, but actually, it is not that odd. All these companies try to break into the trade finance market. It is a huge and hidden market driven by $US30 trillions of global trade of goods and servcies per year. The largest players in that market are still traditional financial institutions such as banks. Challenging these incumbents requires a lot of evangelisation efforts from the startups. They also need to build trust with customers about their new technologies. These two factors push these startups to run content-rich and insightful blogs.
It may be interesting to also dive into this topic in a future article. So that I discover more solutions helpful to solopreneurs and microentrepreneurs.
If you have other blogs to share with me then do not hesitate to email them to me.
Bob's Jargon Buster
MSME stands for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises. The specific criteria for defining a microenterprise vary by country. In general, these are businesses with fewer than 10 employees and an annual revenue of less than US$100,000
Incoterms or International Commercial Terms. These are standard terms and definitions in international trade contracts. Contracts between buyers and sellers use them to specify their rights and obligations. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) publishes the 11 Incoterms rules.Â
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What do you think about today's issue?
I currently conduct a series of interviews with solopreneurs in international trade. If you are one, I would love to know what you do and how you do it. Whether you use trade finance or not. And if we both agree about it, your story will feature in this space here (it is free). Email me back about your availability for an interview.
That is all for today folks. Stay hungry and see you next time! Hit me up on my Twitter (@finbzr) if you need anything. You can also fill out this survey in less than 59 seconds to tell me what you think about this article.
Disclaimer: I recently got started so let us see where this is going- and whether it needs a disclaimer!