Title: Export Trade and Performance of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs)
Export trade has traditionally been considered as the first step to penetrating global markets, which provides a platform for future international expansions. Export trade is a common foreign market entry mode, especially for small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) that aim to internationalise. The internationalisation of firms may come either through export or benefitting from foreign direct investment (FDI). The channels of internationalisation may not necessarily be mutually exclusive. The stages model explains the internalisation of firms as a gradual process, in which firms increase their commitment in foreign markets as they gain experiential knowledge. The model involves four main stages of internationalisation, and these are, no regular export, export via independent enterprises or agents, sales subsidiaries, and through establishment of production plants overseas. However, in the case of African firms that mostly have little or no access to the international market, they may begin their internationalisation process from the stage of no export prior to exhibiting no regular export.