Export Finance and Risk Mitigation Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Export Finance Managers, Trade Finance Bankers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-BI-083

Before you join: Participants should understand basic commercial credit concepts, cash flow, invoices, contracts and bank payment processes.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

International sales can produce strong revenue while creating payment, performance, political and currency exposures that are difficult to price or control. Exporters need working capital before shipment, assurance that documents will be accepted, and confidence that payment will arrive from buyers in unfamiliar jurisdictions. Banks, insurers and trade finance teams must assess the underlying transaction, select suitable instruments and identify where risk remains after financing or insurance is arranged.

This course examines the structure of export transactions from contract negotiation through shipment, document presentation, payment and collections. Participants compare open account, advance payment, documentary collections, documentary credits, standby letters of credit, bank guarantees, factoring, forfaiting and export credit insurance. They apply Incoterms 2020, UCP 600, ISP98 and URDG 758 to practical transaction decisions, examine documentary discrepancy risk, assess country and buyer risk, and calculate the cash-flow and pricing implications of alternative financing structures.

Teaching combines focused briefings with transaction cases, document reviews, group analysis, financing-structure simulations and guided application planning. Cases reflect equipment exports, commodity shipments, cross-border supply contracts and receivables sales. Participants leave with a reusable export transaction risk assessment pack containing a payment-term selection matrix, documentary credit checklist, risk register, insurance evaluation sheet and financing comparison model.

The course is suited to professionals who arrange, approve, insure or monitor cross-border sales and financing. It is particularly relevant where payment terms, documentary requirements and counterparty reliability have direct effects on cash flow, credit losses and contract performance.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess export transaction risks using a structured country, buyer, bank and performance risk framework
  • Select payment terms using a risk-based comparison of open account, collections and documentary credits
  • Apply Incoterms 2020 to allocate delivery, cost, insurance and transfer-of-risk responsibilities
  • Examine documentary credits against UCP 600 requirements and identify likely discrepancy risks
  • Structure standby letters of credit and demand guarantees using ISP98 and URDG 758 principles
  • Compare export working-capital and receivables-finance options using cash-flow and cost analysis
  • Evaluate export credit insurance policies for buyer default, political risk and claims conditions
  • Produce an export finance and risk mitigation plan for a defined cross-border transaction

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Make defensible payment-term recommendations during export contract negotiations
  • Detect documentary credit conditions likely to cause delayed or refused payment
  • Compare financing costs and cash-flow effects across export funding alternatives
  • Discuss guarantee and insurance requirements confidently with banks and insurers
  • Build a transaction-specific risk mitigation plan for live export opportunities

For your organisation

  • Reduce avoidable payment delays caused by poorly drafted documentary credit terms
  • Improve working-capital planning for production, shipment and receivables periods
  • Limit unsecured exposure to overseas buyers, banks and high-risk jurisdictions
  • Strengthen contract approval decisions through consistent payment-risk assessment
  • Improve recovery prospects by meeting insurance notification and claims requirements

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can map an export transaction and identify its principal financial, commercial and country risks.

  • Export transaction lifecycle from quotation, contract and shipment to final payment
  • Buyer, bank, country, currency and performance risks mapped systematically
  • Risk allocation between exporter, importer, carrier, insurer and financing bank
  • Contract payment clauses linked to delivery obligations and documentary evidence
  • Country risk indicators covering transfer restrictions, conflict and sovereign intervention
  • Counterparty due diligence using financial statements, trade references and ownership checks

Participants can align Incoterms, contract clauses and payment terms with the transaction risk profile.

  • Incoterms 2020 rules distinguishing delivery, costs, customs and risk transfer
  • EXW, FCA, FOB, CIF, CPT, CIP, DAP, DPU and DDP compared
  • Payment-term ladder from advance payment through open account sales
  • Match payment mechanisms to buyer strength, product customisation and market risk
  • Sales contract clauses covering late payment, force majeure and dispute resolution
  • Currency denomination choices and exchange-rate risk allocation within export contracts

Participants can determine when collections or open account terms are acceptable and apply suitable controls.

  • Documentary collections under URC 522: documents against payment or acceptance
  • Collection instructions specifying release conditions, charges and protest procedures
  • Open account credit limits established through buyer assessment and payment history
  • Credit control triggers for overdue invoices, disputes and deteriorating buyer behaviour
  • Retention of title clauses and their cross-border enforceability limitations
  • Receivables monitoring using ageing schedules, promised-payment dates and dispute codes

Participants can assess documentary credit structures and identify conditions that threaten compliant presentation.

  • Irrevocable documentary credit roles: applicant, beneficiary, issuing and confirming banks
  • UCP 600 principles of independence, strict compliance and examination periods
  • Credit application review: amount, expiry, shipment period and availability
  • Confirming bank selection based on issuing-bank, country and reimbursement risk
  • Transferable, back-to-back and red-clause credits for intermediary trade structures
  • Amendment control when goods, dates, quantities or documents change

Participants can review export documents for consistency and manage discrepancies before payment is jeopardised.

  • Document consistency checks across invoice, transport document, certificate and packing list
  • Bill of lading requirements: shipment date, consignee, endorsement and clean status
  • Commercial invoice drafting against credit descriptions, quantities and price terms
  • Pre-presentation discrepancy checklist based on UCP 600 article requirements
  • Waiver requests, refusal notices and applicant acceptance of discrepant documents
  • Digital document controls, version management and presentation deadline tracking

Participants can select and structure standby credits and guarantees for payment and performance obligations.

  • Standby letters of credit compared with documentary credits and bank guarantees
  • ISP98 rules governing standby issuance, presentation and dishonour procedures
  • URDG 758 demand guarantees for bid, performance, advance-payment and retention obligations
  • Expiry, reduction and claim-period provisions matched to contractual milestones
  • Demand wording, required statements and documentary conditions assessed for claimability
  • Counter-guarantees and indirect guarantee structures in restricted banking markets

Participants can match pre-shipment funding structures to production cycles, purchase orders and repayment sources.

  • Working-capital gap measured from supplier payment through export receivable collection
  • Pre-shipment finance against purchase orders, contracts and confirmed credits
  • Borrowing-base availability calculated from eligible inventory and receivables values
  • Packing credit repayment linked to shipment proceeds and documentary credit payment
  • Supplier finance and purchase-order finance for export production requirements
  • Facility covenants, security packages and reporting obligations affecting availability

Participants can compare post-shipment finance methods and determine their cost, recourse and risk-transfer effects.

  • Post-shipment finance against accepted bills, receivables and documentary credit proceeds
  • Discounting documentary credit proceeds before maturity with or without recourse
  • Export factoring structures: notification, credit approval, collections and debtor limits
  • Forfaiting medium-term receivables through avalised promissory notes or bills
  • Recourse, dilution and concentration risks retained under receivables finance agreements
  • Effective financing cost calculated from discount, fees, tenor and currency

Participants can evaluate trade credit insurance and political risk cover against the transaction's retained exposures.

  • Trade credit insurance cover for protracted default, insolvency and non-payment
  • Political risk events: transfer restriction, expropriation, war and contract frustration
  • Policy limits, discretionary credit limits and insured percentage interpreted correctly
  • Insurer notification duties for overdue accounts, adverse information and claim events
  • Claims documentation: invoices, delivery evidence, collection records and buyer correspondence
  • Export credit agency support through insurance, guarantees and direct lending

Participants can prepare a practical export finance and risk mitigation plan for a specific transaction.

  • Transaction risk register ranking probability, financial impact, owner and treatment
  • Payment-term decision matrix balancing sales competitiveness, cost and protection
  • Finance structure comparison using cash conversion, pricing and collateral requirements
  • Insurance and guarantee gaps identified after contractual and banking protections
  • Bank discussion pack containing transaction summary, documents and facility request
  • Ninety-day application plan for priority export finance control improvements

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Export transaction risk assessment template
  2. Payment-term selection matrix
  3. Documentary credit discrepancy checklist
  4. Export finance comparison model
  5. Trade credit insurance evaluation sheet
  6. Export finance action plan

Who should attend

  • Export Finance Managers — structure funding and payment protection for international sales
  • Trade Finance Bankers — assess transactions, instruments and documentary risks before approval
  • Credit Risk Managers — evaluate overseas buyer, country and bank exposures
  • Treasury Managers — manage export cash conversion, currency exposure and bank facilities
  • Export Sales Managers — negotiate payment terms that support sales without weakening protection
  • Insurance and Guarantee Specialists — place trade credit cover and administer claims requirements

Skills and tools covered

Trade finance structuringDocumentary credit analysisExport risk assessmentReceivables financingCredit insurance evaluationGuarantee management

Tools and standards

Incoterms 2020, UCP 600, ISP98, URDG 758

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish trade finance rules and transaction terminology, followed by document-based cases, group analysis and financing-structure comparisons. Participants review sales contracts, invoices, bills of lading, documentary credit extracts, guarantee wording and insurance scenarios. Simulations test decisions on payment terms, discrepancies, buyer default and political disruption. Facilitated discussions connect each method to participants' own products, markets and bank relationships. The final application planning session converts course methods into actions for current export transactions.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic commercial credit concepts, cash flow, invoices, contracts and bank payment processes. Experience in exports, imports, banking, treasury, credit control, insurance or international sales is helpful, whether gained in a corporate, bank, insurer or public-sector organisation. Participants should be comfortable reading transaction documents and discussing credit decisions. Prior knowledge of documentary credits, trade finance rules, Incoterms, export credit agencies or insurance wording is not required. The course explains these instruments before applying them to transaction cases.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand basic contracts, invoices, cash flow and commercial credit. Previous experience with letters of credit, guarantees, Incoterms or export insurance is not required.

Bring examples of anonymised export contracts, payment terms, documentary credit wording or financing questions if your employer permits this. A laptop is useful for working with comparison models, but it is not essential.

It suits export finance, treasury, credit, trade banking, insurance, sales and operations professionals with cross-border transaction responsibilities. It is designed for people who already work with commercial decisions rather than those seeking an introductory banking course.

This course concentrates on export-side financing decisions and the control of payment, documentary, buyer, bank and country risks. It connects banking instruments, insurance and contract terms to export cash flow and transaction approval.

Participants can use the payment-term matrix, document checklist and risk assessment template when reviewing live export opportunities. The methods also support more focused discussions with relationship banks, insurers, sales teams and overseas buyers.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided among ten modules covering transaction risks, payment terms, documentary instruments, guarantees, finance, insurance and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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