These practices pool expert knowledge and experience on particular areas from across the world, and act as a practical business resource, uniting dedicated brokers from different regions to work in partnership to win new business opportunities.  On the anniversary of the launch of our Trade Credit Practice, we spoke to Carolina Rodrigues, the Director of Corporate Risks, Trade Credit & Financial Lines for MDS Group in Brazil.  Carolina is our LatAm ambassador, an expert in Trade Credit Insurance and passionate about supporting our network to access the expertise of the Practice.
 

Carolina, it’s been one year since we launched the Brokerslink Trade Credit Practice, what drove the formation of this new group?

We were really excited to put together this group for the benefit of the network.  Trade Credit Insurance is a highly specialised line of business, but it’s also very sensitive.  We’re dealing with sales, business results and debt provisions; it has to be handled with the utmost care, knowledge and sensitivity.  Those dealing in this line must speak the language of finance and appreciate that it’s a highly dynamic line of business; things can change by the day, and it requires experts to develop close, trusting relationships with their clients and develop a deep understanding of their businesses.

Brokerslink recognised a need to offer the clients of Partners and Affiliates a consistent Trade Credit Insurance value proposition globally and, most importantly, provide a consistent level of service to all clients, wherever they are in the world. This is a powerful thing for clients. When dealing with business risk, they need to know that they are in the hands of people who truly understand the nature of this risk and can give them the support they need.

This expertise carries through to claims as well. The Brokerslink network has a number of talented Trade Credit claims experts, and the ability to bring those into discussions when looking at new business opportunities is invaluable.

How is the Practice made up?

We’re lucky to have a dedicated Trade Credit ambassador in five major regions around the world.  I am the ambassador for Latin America, we have Miguel Carranza from Alliant Insurance Services for North America, Frantz Bouchereau from Filhet-Allard Credit in Europe, Dongmin Lee from LK Insurance Services in Asia-Pacific and Amine Bengraiou from Alpha Insurances representing Africa.  Beyond these individuals, we also have trade credit champions in each country who can provide in-country support for our clients.

With this team, we can support risk managers looking for trusted Trade Credit Insurance solutions wherever they are in the world.
 

Since the Practice launched last year, what have been some of your proudest achievements?

I’ve been so proud to watch the power of collaboration make a real difference to our clients, particularly in supporting multinational clients with complex global programs. We've already established three significant global programs for major companies in the pulp and paper and metals sectors, which span several different countries. The practice has made a real difference by enabling swift, collaborative responses across our network, building on other existing global trade credit programs. For instance, we recently worked on a tender involving five countries, the US, Japan, Switzerland and of course, Brazil. Together, we were able to deliver a compelling tender, leveraging the knowledge and expertise of trade credit specialists, in just over a week. This demonstrates our ability to provide consistent, high-quality service globally, offering our clients a unified approach to trade credit insurance that they couldn't access before. By leveraging our network's expertise, we can now analyse financial information, support credit limit requests, and provide dedicated claims management across multiple markets.

I believe our Practice is another differentiator that sets Brokerslink apart from other networks, and underlines the importance of building and maintaining genuine human connections that support business opportunities.