Many European companies still get cold feet about doing business with suppliers from developing countries. Their fears are often completely ungrounded. However, it means that they ignore opportunities for making contact with excellent suppliers of products or production facilities.
"They lose opportunities too, of improving their own market position in these markets, or by being the first to snap up innovative concepts - non-traditional solutions in which opportunities are linked in an unexpected, yet exciting and profitable way," says Günther Fandrich, consultant for Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI) programme: Electronic Components & Systems.
The CBI is the organisation whose mission is to contribute to the economic development of developing countries by strengthening the competitiveness of companies from those countries on the EU market. "Ignoring the chances that CBI offers unused because of incorrect assumptions about companies from developing economies, would mean missing attractive business opportunities," adds Fandrich.
He says this can be avoided. CBI advises and coaches companies in these countries. Based on many years of experience in international management for marketing, manufacturing, procurement and locating contractors for a main player on the European and the US market, the CBI consultant is well-experienced.
Following a series of export workshops, CBI has managed to assist 38 companies of this kind from Egypt, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Thailand to be able to present their offerings at electronica 2004 in November, under the CBI umbrella in Hall B3, Stand 211 and Hall B5, Stand 654.
From South Africa, seven innovative companies will be setting up and exhibiting at electronica 2004, 9-18 November 2004. They are: 2C Solutions, Branell, CZ Electronics, Parsec, Sensomac, Specialist System Engineering, and Trax Interconnect (see 'South African CBI partner companies at electronica 2004').
CBI product consultants screen and guide companies that conform to the European market's strict requirements, such as quality and safety. These selected companies receive a broad program of business support from CBI when they make their entry on the European market.
For more information about electronica 2004 see www.electronica.de; or for more information about the CBI programme, contact Jan Nijenhuis, CBI, 0931 10 201 3434, [email protected], www.cbi.nl
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