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Madeinafrica.ioTrade Across Africa

Buying guides

Sourcing from Africa, explained plainly

How to check a manufacturer, what a shipment really costs, and what our verified badge does and does not promise. Written for buyers, not for search engines.

min read

How to Source Verified Textiles from Lesotho: A Buyer’s Guide

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min read

What ‘Verified Supplier’ Means on Made in Africa

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min read

Sourcing Construction Materials Across SADC: Compliance Checklist

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min read

AfCFTA for SMEs: What Changes for Your Export Business

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8 min read

Sourcing Construction Materials Across SADC: Compliance Checklist

The specification, certification and import requirements that decide whether a construction consignment clears the border and passes the engineer’s inspection.

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7 min read

AfCFTA for SMEs: What Changes for Your Export Business

What the African Continental Free Trade Area actually changes for a small exporter — tariffs, rules of origin, documentation and a sensible first sequence.

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Put a guide into practice

Search live stock and verified manufacturers, or publish a requirement and let suppliers quote.

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Made in Africa

Verified suppliers, open tenders and cross-border costing for the 16 SADC nations.

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Escrow on Made in Africa

Read the full escrow guide

What is escrow?

Escrow is a neutral holding arrangement. When you pay for a trade, your money is held securely by a regulated third party — not released to the supplier immediately. The supplier ships. You confirm the goods arrived as agreed. Only then are funds released. If something goes wrong, the money is still there while the dispute is resolved.

Why we use it

  • For buyers: you do not pay a stranger and hope. Funds move only when you confirm delivery.
  • For suppliers: you do not ship on a promise. The buyer's funds are verified and held before you dispatch.
  • For both: disputes are resolved against a held balance, not a vanished payment.
  • Cross-border safety: escrow removes the trust gap in SADC trade where buyer and supplier may never meet.

How a protected trade works

  1. 1

    Buyer pays into escrow

    Funds are held by our payments partner.

  2. 2

    Supplier ships

    With a verified, held balance as proof of commitment.

  3. 3

    Buyer confirms delivery

    Funds released to the supplier. Dispute? Resolution starts within 14 days.

Escrow payments are handled by TradeSafe, our third-party escrow provider.

Made in Africa is connected to TradeSafe in test mode, so no real buyer funds are collected or held yet. Made in Africa never holds, freezes or releases buyer funds itself, and is not an escrow agent.

Full terms are set out in our Escrow Policy. Escrow availability may vary by country and trade value.

Check us before you trade

Who you are dealing with, in writing.

Language

BRICS and SADC languages. Non-English editions are machine drafts.

Support

Questions about a trade, a payment or a listing? Our team answers in English and Portuguese.

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