SME Trade Academy courses are designed, developed and delivered following a three-step pedagogical approach.

These are
1) knowledge and understanding;
2) analysis and application;
3) synthesis and evaluation.

The three steps are reflected in the learning activities employed by the courses, which include lectures for knowledge and understanding, case study exercises for analysis and application, as well as forum tasks, readiness assessments, assignments and course evaluations for synthesis and evaluation.

From the perspective of learners, the objective of a course on the SME Trade Academy is both to learn, as well as to obtain recognition for going through the learning process. As such, certification is a critical component of any course, whether it takes the form of an automated certificate issued for self-study, or a more substantial recognition issued for the completion of certificate programmes.

The different characteristics of an online course on the SME Trade Academy consist of:

- Learning objectives;
- Learning activities;
- A learning schedule;
- Assessments (self-marked, auto-marked or tutor-marked)
- Interactions between learners and a tutor, as well as between the learners themselves; and
- Linking course content with "real world" applications based on what was learned.