SOME SUGGESTIONS
• Understand the areas of need and high profit. Consult with the Chamber of Commerce, the Embassy, or traders in the country of your interest.• Educate yourself about Africa from sources other than the Discovery Channel.
• Get information about your business interest from Chambers of Commerce or business consultants.
• Develop a sound business and marketing strategy.
• Identify reliable business partners in Africa either by yourself or through the Chamber of Commerce or the relevant Embassies.
• Visit the location if you intend to establish a company or an outlet.
• Follow up on every arrangement to make sure that conditions and terms are fully understood and are being implemented.
• Arm yourself with a lot of patience and keep an open mind because communication and correspondence from Africa may not flow as smoothly or as fast as you may expect.
• Understand the cultural environment of the African country in which you intend to do business.
• Use a consultant, especially those that have a real understanding of Africa. Be mindful of the three Ps of African business: Pensiveness, patience, and perseverance. Pensiveness demands the use of common sense. Success demands a lot of patience. Above all, you must persevere and be persistent but polite.
• Lucrative as it may be, the African market is not without pitfalls. Keep your guard up and insist on cash transactions as far as possible.
• Establish direct contacts with your business counterparts in Africa by participating in trade fairs and exhibitions like the forthcoming 3rd AFRO BUSINESS TRADE FAIR which is being held in Kampala, Uganda just before Christmas season.
• Add your company to the Advertising Section of the Africa Business Pages.
The Advertising Section will carry a full-page editorial about your company as well as two pictures of your company's products. In addition to this, your company will also be provided with a direct link in the Business Links section. By promoting your company on the Africa Business Pages you can reap rich dividends. An absolute essential for those targetting the African market. Browse through some samples before taking a decision.
Post your business proposals on the African Classified Advertisements section. An ideal way to get direct responses from your business counterparts in African countries. Employing the growing influence of Internet technology to promote your business in international markets is one of the most simple and effective promotional tool for forward-looking enterpreuners. Simply post your message and wait for the results. Simple!
• Donwlaod the Africa Business Directory from the Africa Business Pages.
The African Business Directories list importers, traders and wholesalers in many African countries and cab help you reach your potential business partners in African countries from the convenience of your desktop.
Retail Chain
Large retail stores may also buy products directly from an overseas supplier. This is most often the case when there is exclusivity on a line such as a particular range of linen, clothing or kitchenware. Of growing importance in the African market is the existence of house brands that are manufactured specifically for a retailer under their own label. A number of house brands available in many African retail outlets are imported from Asian countries. A salient feature of the retail sector in Africa is that it operates within a very competitive marketing environment. As a result, a few large groups dominate the retail sector. For example, in South Africa there are four major retail groups that dominate the foodstuff business, accounting for well over half of the formal retail sector. In addition to the major chains and groups, there are a large number of independent retailers who cater to their own segments of the market.
Once a list of potential partners has been identified using trade directories and other inputs, it is then necessary to contact each of the companies to assess their interest in doing business with you. It is advisable to get a specialist organisation to do this on your behalf, as the process can be very time-consuming. It is advisable to mail your company’s corporate brochure along with an indicative price list to your targetted business partners in Africa. An increasing number of companies are also using the internet to make contact with their business counterparts in many African countries. E-Mail marketing is thus emerging as a major tool in the promotion of direct trade. However, it is worth reiterating the value of an in-market visit to establish contacts with prospective partners.
As an exporter, you need to plan a visit to a market for a number of reasons. Initially this is an ideal way to meet potential importers of your product and to discuss conditions for payment and other business modalities. A visit to your targetted market also helps you to get an understanding of the way the market operates, what the market characteristics are, what your competitors are doing and whether or not their product is going to compete in terms of quality and price. Lastly, since international travel is expensive, you need to plan your visit carefully so that you maximise your time in the market. However, before you finalise any agreement with an agent or distributor for your products in any African country you need to study a few things.
First and foremost, you need to appoint an agent who knows your market well. Most of the business sector in African countries is relatively small and companies have established methods of procurement that differ from one sector to another. One tends to find that there are relatively few agents who serve a particular sector on an exclusive basis, but, because they are well established within the sector, they deal in many other sectors. For instance, a reputed foodtuff importer in Uganda may also be a major importer of automobile spare parts like tyres, batteries and ball bearings.
You also need to consider the aspect of regional distribution. Africa is a large continent with as many as 54 countries. The smaller agents will tend to operate provincially, as they do not have the infrastructure or the wherewithal to support operations in other provinces or countries. If you decide to go this route you may need to appoint an agent in each of the larger cities in order to cover all the major provinces. The larger companies who take on agencies will often have an office in each of the major cities in the region thereby making any agency agreement easier to control.
For certain products and services countries like Kenya, South Africa, Ivory Coast are known as trading hubs for their respective regions. You need to consider whether your African agent should handle business in the entire region on your behalf or whether he should concentrate on his country alone.
