Continuing the dialogue on globalisation started during Small Business Week 2021 at the State of the Sector Conference, the SBA held a recent webinar under the theme “Locally Developed Global Reach – A Discussion on Exporting your Business.” 

This topic continues to be one of high value for members as the sector emerges from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The SBA posits that businesses can no longer hinge only on a strategy for the domestic market if they wish to thrive, but must include a focus on the internationalisation of their firms along with strategic partnerships with firms across the region and globe.

Co-founder of Think Global Brazil and presenter, Mr. Rafael Pinto, in his introduction of the session, encouraged members to think carefully if they were truly ready to go global. This notion of readiness, he posited, should be based on a number of factors including:

• The maturity of the business – can the business handle expansion at this time?
• Knowledge of other markets – has market research on potential international markets been conducted?
• Resources – does the business have sufficient resources to facilitate expansion without collapsing?
• Team – does the business have the right team to take it into international markets?
• Leadership – are the leaders of the company on board with the idea of globalisation?

Mr. Pinto proposed a starting guide on the path to internationalisation which included:

• Defining your target market
• Defining your target customer
• Defining your brand positioning
• Defining your unique selling proposition
• Defining your marketing channels and
• Creating your financial model

Finally, Mr. Pinto highlighted a number of ways that members could expand to international markets once they believed they were ready to do so. These included:

• Having a representative of the company in other markets
• Forming partnerships in other markets
• Taking business missions in person or online
• Attending in-person or online networking events and
• Joining acceleration programmes abroad. 

To see the full video, click the following link: https://www.facebook.com/sbabarbados/videos/1542779386076520