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How To Expand A Business Operating In South Africa

South Africa is one of the wealthiest and most developed African nations. People from all over the world visit there to study and to start businesses. Many consider it a gateway to Africa. It is a great place to start a business on the continent because of the nation’s prosperity, and how easy it is to travel into the rest of Africa from there.

If you have already started a business in South Africa and want to expand it into other parts of Africa, or the world, then this is the post for you. Here is everything you need to know (and what you need to do):

How to expand a business operating in south africa

Internal Expansion

Before you think about expanding internationally, you should think about expanding internally. One of the best cities in all of South Africa for business is Johannesburg. If you own a business that sells physical goods and services, then the first part of expanding there should be searching for Johannesburg storage facilities, so that you have somewhere to store stock. You also need to find a physical location to base yourself in, either an office or a store.

Online Marketing

Online marketing is another important consideration to make. Without online marketing, there is literally no way for you to effectively expand internationally (or even domestically). Consumers turn to the internet to find out about new products and services today, so if you do not have a presence there, there is no way for them to find out about you.

If you have no experience with online marketing, then you can pay an agency to do it for you. Social media marketing is an especially important area of marketing to consider, so make sure that you invest as much time and money into it as you can.

Providing Service

You need to be sure that the service you provide (or the product you sell) is going to be in demand in the country that you are expanding to. If you live and work in South Africa, then you no doubt have to deal with hot weather. If your business, for example, sells air-conditioners, then expanding to somewhere like Iceland isn’t going to be particularly profitable.

You need to think through your expansion and find locations that will actually benefit from your presence. You can do this by working with a business planner, who will be able to give you professional and helpful advice regarding your expansion.

How to expand a business operating in south africa

Networking Platforms

Networking platforms are great places to turn when you’re interested in expanding. On these platforms, you can speak to other professionals, some of whom might be in need of your services (or might be able to give you an inroad into business in the country that you want to expand to). You can also use networking platforms for domestic expansion, too. If you do plan on using networking platforms, then make sure you put a lot of thought into your profile and create one that provides accurate and useful information about your business.

Visiting Overseas

You can’t expand to a country that you haven’t visited before. In order to expand, you need to visit the country. Ideally, you should already have people there who’re familiar with operating a business in that country. If you do, then they can meet you and can show you around. You should start scouting for stores to rent, storage facilities, or offices.

Air travel is very affordable at the moment because airlines have dropped prices in order to encourage people to travel again post-COVID. There’s never been a better time to take business trips.

Opening Locations

You will need physical stores in the places that you want to expand to if you sell physical goods. Ideally, you should have people in the countries you want to expand to, as already mentioned. These people will be able to look around online and try to find places they can rent.

Then, they can go and view them and will be able to tell you whether they’re suitable or not. If they identify anywhere that seems suitable, then you can fly over and visit and make the final decision yourself.

Employing Staff

You won’t be able to run physical stores if you do not have staff in the country or city that you want to expand to. You can employ staff online, using a hiring agency. A hiring agency will help you to find qualified, suitable, and experienced employees, and then direct them to you for interviews.

But of course, if you’re looking for staff for bigger roles that have the right experience and expertise, than it’s going to be a good idea to go ahead and opt for an executive search in stead to help your business successfully expand there.

Expanding a business internationally (or even domestically) can be a real challenge. However, if you take the advice given here into consideration, then you’ll be able effectively to pull it off. Never overlook marketing, networking, or storage. They are perhaps this list’s most important recommendations.

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