Market access
Across African countries, primarily West and Central Africa, Latin America and North America.
FOR CHEMICAL PRODUCERS: Your sales team for export markets.
Expanding into Africa, Latin America and North America usually means one of two routes: build your own export sales team or hand the relationship to a distributor and lose visibility over your customers. Retba offers a third option...
The RETBA model
We act as your sales agency.
We find and qualify customers, manage the relationship from first order through to payment, and handle the realities of trading in markets with language barriers, payment risk and shipping complexity. You focus on production; we deliver paying customers. We're paid by you, but only when you're paid. So, there’s no upfront cost to you and no retainer sitting on your books.
What we bring
Customer development
We find and qualify buyers so you deal with customers who are ready and able to pay.
Relationship management
From first order to final payment, with the same people handling your account throughout.
Risk management
Know-your-customer checks, sanctions screening and payment terms negotiated to protect you in higher-risk markets.
Logistics and documentation
Handled end to end, including the key customs documents that most often cause delays, each one double-checked for accuracy before shipping.
Market intelligence
Early warning of price changes, supply disruptions and shipping issues across the markets we cover.
More visibility. Less overhead.
Distributors buy, stock and resell, which adds cost and puts them between you and the customer relationship. We don't buy or stock anything, so you keep direct visibility of who's buying your product and on what terms, without the overhead of running the sales operation yourself.
Expertise That Delivers.
We have more than 25 years of combined experience in the coatings industry and this gives us a working knowledge of the product categories you produce – including resins, titanium dioxide, pigments, additives, fillers and silicones – as well as the markets you're trying to reach.
In their words
What producers tell us
“Retba spares us the cost and lead time of building an in-house export team. Their established presence gives us immediate access to market opportunities without the fixed overhead of salaries and management — a flexible, low-risk model that lets us scale exports while we focus on manufacturing.”
“With their local market knowledge, regional customer network and on-the-ground sales support, we entered and expanded in overseas markets we could not reach alone. They identify buyers quickly, promote our products locally, and shorten the time it takes to develop a market.”
“They opened up South America and Africa for us — markets where we had no real strength of our own. Their director maintains a genuinely close relationship with end users, so doing business through Retba means one more guarantee. A reliable partner for long term growth.”
“Retba team is sincere, loyal, helpful and professional. They manage export customer relationships for us, deal with the problems that arise along the way, and confirm the paperwork and documentation at every stage. We genuinely appreciate their collaboration.”
Questions & answers
For chemical producers
Are you a trader, distributor or broker?
No, we are none of those. We don’t buy, stock or resell anything. We operate as sales agency for chemical producers seeking export growth. We connect them with paint and adhesive manufacturers in Africa, North America and Latin America. They buy directly from the factory and we handle the trade complexity in between.
If you don’t buy and resell, how do you make money?
The chemical producer pays us for delivering new customers.
Can you expand on how you deliver new customers?
We find and qualify paint and adhesive manufacturers as customers, we manage the relationship from first order through to payment, and we handle the realities of trading in markets with language barriers, payment risk and shipping complexity. Chemical producers can focus on production; we deliver paying customers.
Which markets do you cover?
African countries, primarily West and Central Africa, Latin American and North American markets.
What does it cost to work with you?
It will cost you nothing upfront. You pay us, but only when you’re paid by the customer we have sourced for you.
How do you manage customer relationships?
The same people handle your account throughout, from first enquiry to ongoing shipments, so you’re never starting from scratch with someone new.
How long have you been operating?
Our team brings more than 25 years of combined experience in the coatings industry.
Do you handle language and cultural barriers?
Yes. That’s part of what we manage on your behalf, alongside the trade documentation and logistics.
Start a conversation
Tell us what you need — we’ll take it from there.
Whether you’re looking to source or to sell, one conversation sets the direction.