Rita Basmadjian

I started at 18, in Aleppo, managing the international business of a boss who didn't speak English. No training, just foreign clients to convince and suppliers to find. I learned by doing.

In 2012, the war forced me to leave everything behind. In Lyon, I started from scratch: BTS International Commerce, three years of credit management with Atradius, Euler Hermes, and Coface, then founded two companies — Challenge'R (import-export of dried fruits) and since 2019 Organic Bio Tech, which manufactures and exports Aleppo soap throughout Europe.

I don't consult from an office: I export myself. You work with someone who lives the same constraints as you.

What I do on assignments: audits to reduce your costs and expenses, import-export consulting, matchmaking in cosmetics, wellness, decoration, and pharmacy, FR/EN/AR interpretation, Middle East cultural facilitation, export credit risk management.

At international trade shows: I accompany you on the ground as a negotiator and spokesperson for your company. I present your products, engage foreign buyers in their language, and then report back what was really said — including what wasn't said.

Markets: Europe, Middle East, Maghreb, partners in Australia, Singapore, South Korea.

Regarding Arabic: in Gulf and Levant cultures, a buyer who finds an interlocutor who truly speaks Arabic prefers to work with that company. For equal products, language makes the decision.

Need to prepare for a trade show, open a market, welcome a delegation, or reduce costs? A 30-minute chat is enough to see if I can help you.