We studied the problem before we built the product.
Crossbotra is grounded in documented field research on how cross-border trade actually fails the small importer — not assumptions. The quotes you see across this site come from that work.
WP-2025-004 · Zenodo
The AfCFTA Execution Gap
A working paper examining why the promise of continental free trade stalls at execution — the compliance, payment, and logistics friction that keeps small importers from participating.
CumanisLab · importer field study
The 36 Challenges of the SME Importer
A structured taxonomy of the problems importers report first-hand — from unverifiable sellers and surprise landed costs to document errors and trapped deposits. Each challenge maps to a capability Crossbotra is being built to address.
Our research program continues. As corridors open, we publish what we learn — so the importers we serve, and the institutions who back us, can hold our claims to a citable standard. See the research applied in depth on our flagship Guangzhou → Lagos corridor.
Working papers are pre-print research, not peer-reviewed guarantees of outcome.