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Business Beyond Borders

Business leaders urged to push boundaries

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:56

International academic and business experts recently presented the latest global insights at the Business Beyond Borders refresher seminar at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB).

According to Marietjie Wepener, Deputy Director: Business Development, Marketing and Communication at the USB, innovative ways to position South African companies to compete effectively on a global stage were discussed during the seminar.

The two day refresher seminar, hosted by the USB, featured experts from South Africa, Belgium, France, Canada and Norway who covered topics such as entry into African markets, entrepreneurship in Africa, the development of internet marketing, global business strategies, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, as well as how to ‘internationalise’ SMEs.

The seminar kicked off with the keynote speaker, Richard Lord, Director of Rothesay International and an alumnus of the USB, who spoke about the challenges South African companies experience when breaking into the international arena and especially into African markets.

Lord says foreign countries often don’t perceive new brands and products from South Africa to be attractive as they are not known to the public. Furthermore, he says that it is extremely challenging for SA products to secure significant market share due to regulatory constraints, lack of subsidies and a low understanding of tariffs.

He believes in order for companies to expand internationally it is essential that they understand that many countries around the globe are not as westernised and therefore need to adapt business models to suit foreign cultures and logistics. Lord advises companies who are looking to expand internationally to establish in-country resellers, distributors and subsidiaries; and to ensure they have patience and ethical business practices, as it takes time to talk things through as foreign cultures are so different.

The seminar also featured an address by Abdullah Verachia, a partner at Frontier Advisory: South Africa, who spoke on business practices in emerging and frontier markets. He specifically referred to what he calls China’s ‘scramble for Africa’ and recommended business leaders to take a few tips from China who are currently Africa’s largest trade partner.

According to Verachia, the key to achieving expansion is to understand the cultural dynamics of the foreign market you are looking to tap into. He says South African business leaders tend to have too much of a ‘westernised’ business mindset which prevents them from successfully penetrating eastern markets such as India and Asia.

Prof Hans Crijns from the USB’s partner school, Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School in Belgium, also spoke at the seminar and explored the qualities that people hoping to become entrepreneurs need to possess. During the address he highlighted that entrepreneurs have a totally different set of attributes than a manager, but once an entrepreneur has effectively established a small business he will need to develop and implement vital managerial skills.

The seminar was concluded by Professor Koen de Bock, from the IESEG School of Management in France, who advised business leaders on the importance of internet marketing as a tool in the quest for internationalisation. According to Koen, internet marketing, when used effectively, can save companies millions of rands on advertising campaigns and also presents an opportunity to revolutionise the online marketing gap.