01
Supplier sourcing & qualification
We select, audit and qualify Brazilian manufacturers, then negotiate product specification, payment terms and contracts on your behalf.
Procurement and international trade consultancy
Brazilian supply, delivered on terms your business can carry.
We qualify the manufacturers, negotiate the contracts, absorb the counterparty risk and move the cargo — bulk commodities, construction materials, manufactured goods and food, from respected Brazilian producers to buyers across Africa and Europe.
One counterparty, end to end
Supplier qualification through customs documentation and delivered cargo — a single contract and a single point of accountability.
Risk held on our balance sheet
Suppliers sell to a known buyer. New importers get financing and terms they would not obtain direct.
30+
21
500
Services
Nine functions most importers assemble from nine vendors.
Lean Trade holds them under one mandate, so the commercial, financial and documentary sides of a shipment never contradict each other. Engage the whole programme or any single function.
02
Counterparty risk management
Suppliers face a known buyer. We absorb the exposure of new or unfamiliar external buyers so the trade can proceed.
03
Container consolidation
Mixed loads from several producers in one container — no need to reserve a full container of a single product to start.
04
Buyer financing
Qualifying buyers are introduced to financing lines that turn a workable order into a placed order.
05
Freight & shipping terms
Contracts negotiated directly with shipping lines give our customers rates and terms they would not reach alone.
06
Customs documentation
Documentation prepared for the specific regime of your market, supporting clearance from origin to destination.
07
Quality control & inspection
Cargo inspection during transport, custody transfer and storage — our own analysts or an accredited independent agency.
08
Order fulfilment
From sales enquiry to delivered goods: order processing, lead-time updates and quality assurance at every stage.
09
Trade fair participation
We attend the sector's international trade fairs — meeting producers and buyers in person, and representing our customers where the deals are made.
Lean Trade Services
Selling building materials? We build the software for it too.
Catalogue, stock and load software for importers, distributors and manufacturers: every supplier in one app, stock files processed with photos, container loads and PDF offers.
About our roots
A bridge between cultures, markets and your business goals.
Passionate about connecting cultures and people, and drawing on the rich shared history of Brazil and Africa in international trade, experienced trade professionals came together to give their customers a better experience.
Customers come first, and every deal is an honest one for all parties involved: Lean Trade was born to be the bridge between them.
Fair and transparent
Terms stated plainly on both sides of the trade — no hidden margin, no surprise cost at the port.
Built for the long term
Producers and buyers we intend to work with for years, not a single opportunistic shipment.
Led by operators
Founded by people who have run these routes and know where trades actually break down.
What we move
Ask about a product not listed →Bulk raw commodities
Agricultural and mineral bulk, sold FOB or CFR with inspection at load port.
Construction materials
Ceramics, cement inputs, steel products and finishing materials.
Manufactured goods
Finished industrial and consumer products from established Brazilian factories.
Food products
Packaged and processed food, handled with the certification each destination requires.
How we work
From sales enquiry to delivered cargo, supervised at every handover.
- 01
Enquiry
Product, volume, destination port and target landed cost.
- 02
Sourcing
Shortlist of qualified producers with samples and quoted terms.
- 03
Contract
Negotiated purchase, payment structure and risk allocation.
- 04
Shipment
Consolidation, booking, inspection and full documentary pack.
- 05
Delivery
Clearance support, prompt lead-time updates, closed file.
Risk & financing
The trade closes because someone stands between the two sides.
Brazilian producers are asked to ship to buyers they have never dealt with. Buyers are asked to prepay for cargo they have never seen. Lean Trade takes that exposure onto its own account — and, for qualifying buyers, arranges financing and consolidated part-container loads so a first order does not need to be a full container of a single product.
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We buy, then we sell
The producer's counterparty is Lean Trade, not an unknown importer.
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Financing for qualified buyers
Attractive facilities arranged where the credit case supports it.
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Part-container orders
Consolidation removes the full-container minimum on a first purchase.
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Independent inspection on request
Accredited third-party verification at any critical handover.
Where we trade
Origin in Brazil, demand in Africa, and a European base in Toulouse. Documentation is prepared for the specific regime of each destination — not a generic pack.
Origin
Brazil
Producer relationships, factory audits and export documentation at source.
Core demand
Africa
Established buyer base across West and Southern African ports.
Base
Europe
EU compliance, customs documentation and European buyers, run from the Toulouse office.
Careers
Small team, unusually broad mandate.
Sourcing analysts, documentation specialists and logistics coordinators who want to see a trade from first enquiry to delivered container rather than one slice of it.
Send an open application No open roles right now. We keep speculative applications on file and come back to them first when something opens. careers@lean-trade.com
Tell us the product, the volume and the port.
We come back with qualified suppliers, landed cost and a shipping plan — typically within five working days.