Business expansion into new markets is a natural part of each company’s scaling journey. It can encompass new countries, new services, or new customer segments. While an exciting period of growth and opportunity, there are potential barriers that should be considered. At the Southern and Central Africa Regional Convening, innovators shared their experiences on what they consider when exploring business expansion opportunities.
KivuGreen, an innovator based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, offers an innovative digital solution that does not rely on internet connection to farmers, providing them with curated agricultural and weather information. While this USSD-based platform helps smallholder farmers who have limited knowledge of agriculture and technology, KivuGreen faced some challenges with onboarding new smallholder farmers. For instance, there were communication and language barriers because not all of their potential end-users speak French or are literate. So, the innovator had to expand its language offerings to meet end-users’ needs. For those who are illiterate, KivuGreen developed and integrated a voice note service, so text-based information could be heard out loud. Along the same vein of communication barriers, KivuGreen’s targeted end-users lacked technological awareness. At first local farmers viewed KivuGreen’s platform as magic and satanic – farmers believed that it was not possible to receive weather information through their phones. To mitigate these sentiments, KivuGreen engaged local community leaders to explain how the technology worked as well as the benefit for farmers. Heads of different communities selected individuals who were then integrated into the platform and educated on how to use the technology. This enabled the innovator to connect with their target audience.
For Alzanael, a Zimbabwe-based and women-led agro-processing company, the key barrier was logistics and obtaining needed certifications. When moving smaller packages to customers, they could leverage their network of family and friends. As the business grew, it became more difficult as Alzanael needed new certifications and documents had to be translated. For instance, when looking to expand to the United Arab Emirates, the innovator needed a halal certification. For Egypt, their documentation was in English and local partners wanted documentation and agreements to be translated into Arabic.
During a session on organizational management, Nature’s Nectar and Reel Gardening both highlighted the need to maintain clear communication with partners about targets and objectives. For instance, external partners will always want to see more and more impact, which may not match with a company’s current targets or customer segments. During project design, businesses must actively share their lessons learned to prevent situations where the partner’s intended targets do not align with companies’ on-the-ground experience.
Lanforce Energy offered a different perspective for businesses looking to expand. While logistics and outreach are important, innovators should also consider diversifying their revenue streams. As a biogas company, the innovator works with both horticulture and livestock producers, enabling them to avoid slumps during non-harvest seasons of the year, so there is always a steady revenue.
As seen from the above examples, there are diverse challenges to business scaling. When companies scale in transient markets and disruptive business environments, a one-size-fits-all approach does not work. Companies must be open to exploring different solutions that may exist outside of the realm of their standard practices. It’s also important for businesses to realize that not all solutions can be found internally – sometimes you need to look externally for the solution.
Interested in learning more about these innovators’ experiences? Contact them via their innovator profiles.
