Category: News

International Women’s Day is a global day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It provides the opportunity to look at how far women have come in terms of equality. It’s fitting that this year’s theme is #EachforEqual and how ‘equality is not a women’s issue, it’s a business issue’. Here, our managing director Bolaji Sofoluwe, discusses her passion for celebrating women in high-profile positions.

A lot of progress has been made in equality in recent times – I’m really excited to see women in politics and really excelling.

The prime example is Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand – a woman in a high-powered position who is continually showing the world what real leadership is.

In Africa, there is trailblazing work going on with women in government positions and on company boards. The Ethiopian cabinet is half women which is a massive step forward in gender parity.

The continent is seen as having strong patriarchal traditions. So, for Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to place women in his cabinet is just phenomenal.

And, in just this past month, three women have been appointed to the boards of companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

According to the African Development Bank Group, women hold close to one third of the seats in parliaments in 11 African countries – more than in Europe.

I am 100% behind the gender equality movement and I want young women to feel empowered and aspire to become business leaders or politicians.

Expertise

Although I am passionate about my African roots, I developed my career while living in the UK in my 20s. I worked first in insurance before moving into banking.

This knowledge – which includes understanding logistics, legislation, economics and business – helped form the ETK Group in 2012 and my understanding of both the African and the British culture has allowed the company to successfully work across both continents.

Some of our East of England clients have enjoyed successful work in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. The company also has clients in the north of England and London. And nearly half come from around the world including USA, Singapore, Sweden, Holland and Finland.

Businesses have been very receptive to trading with Africa, especially following Brexit. As a result, many SMEs have explored opportunities to trade elsewhere in the world – Africa in particular.

And the continent is home to six of the 15 fastest growing economies in the world. The time is right for the UK’s businesses to capitalise on the vast amount of growth predicted across Africa in sectors including agriculture, renewables, finance and technology.

The fact is that African women are highly entrepreneurial and own a third of all businesses across Africa. And I am proud to be part of that movement and celebrate this International Women’s Day.

Business is booming on the continent – so how should UK companies make the most of these markets? Here Bolaji Sofoluwe explains the difference between foreign trade and foreign investment.

Globalisation has changed the face of markets around the world as well as the way we do business at home and abroad.

The biggest shift has been how we buy and sell products and services and this has chiefly involved us either trading with – or investing in – our foreign neighbours.

Some business owners find it is easy to work out whether trade or investment will work best in terms of expanding their network. But others confuse the two.

In simple terms, foreign trade implies the trade of goods, services and capital between two countries of the world. 

Foreign investment however, refers to an investment made in a company from a source outside the country and this can be in the form of capital, technology and other resources.

In the last year UK Africa Trade last year was worth £36bn and investment was £2.4bn – demonstrating just how lucrative the opportunities are on the continent. So how do you pick between the two?

Gap in the market

Most of my work involves foreign trade – chiefly exporting and importing.

This involves offering a product or service to a country where there is a need, a gap in the market or room for competition.

It benefits businesses looking to expand into new markets and it also benefits countries looking to fulfil resource requirements. This might include meeting a requirement of natural or man-made resources for example, where one country may engage in trade with another country which possesses these resources in abundance.

Foreign trade also helps connect the markets of different countries of the world and creates a good opportunity for domestic producers to capture global markets and increase their overall reach.

In some cases, trade and investment go hand-in-hand of course and we or our partners can advise accordingly on both.

We have worked with clients who have combined the two to organise the supply of inputs, to expand in new markets, to access knowledge and to provide services to consumers.

We have also adapted our approach to the specific requirements of different sectors.

Some industries, such as food and banking for example, look to become engaged in foreign direct investment (FDI) activities – an investment made by a firm or individual in one country into business interests located in another country – while others, such as automobiles – rely more heavily on trading goods and services.

Others deploy both trade and FDI with equal intensity – such as clothing and footwear.

There has also been an interest in clients exploring strategic partnerships such as licensing, contract manufacturing, services outsourcing, joint-ventures and strategic alliances.

Whatever the needs of a business looking to trade, invest or partner with another country, we can advise accordingly.

But understanding the differences between the three is the first crucial step to making the right decisions when it comes to cross-border business relationships.

For more information, give us a call today on 01206 563698.