Keep up to date with the latest news from Kazakhstan and the team at Kazopp.
Posted 29/01/2015
According to research by British Chambers of Commerce, Kazakhstan provided one of the busiest trading lines for British e-commerce companies in 2014. This is great news for UK SMEs which might be considering branching out into exports for the first time. Export opportunities for SMEs in Kazakhstan have never been better – in this week’s blog, we look at why.
Posted 18/12/2014
As 2014 draws to a close, we take a look at how the market conditions in Kazakhstan have changed over the year and conduct a review of what this means in terms of opportunities for SMEs looking to export goods and/or services over the year ahead.
Posted 12/12/2014
Last week, the Government announced the launch of the Business Growth Service, which incorporates the existing GrowthAccelerator and Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) programmes.
It is hoped that the Business Growth Service will “make it easier for businesses with the potential, capability and capacity to improve and grow to access expert advice and support.” The new service will also offer export advice, so this week , we take a look at what it means for local SMEs, particularly those interested in export.
Posted 03/12/2014
It was revealed during Export Week last month that if SMEs led by women exported at the same rate as the average of small businesses, the number of exporters in the UK would rise by 100,000.
According to statistics, the percentage of women-led businesses exporting was only 13% in 2012, compared with 19% for all SMEs.
So what is it that makes women in business reluctant to branch out into overseas markets?
It was suggested that some of the key barriers to women exporting include lack of access to finance, not having the mind-set to move into exports and not having the necessary business contacts and experience.
A further perceived barrier could be cultural issues, but in fact none of these reasons should deter female SME owners or leaders from grasping the growth potential available to their business via export.
Indeed, UKTI were keen during Export Week to highlight the fact that none of these factors need be an issue for entrepreneurs. They held a series of Women in International Business Forums with all-femael panel sessions with a view to breaking down these barriers and encouraging women to start exporting.
There are, of course, already some very successful female entrepreneurs, many of whom are UKTI Export Champions, but there is plenty of scope for more women-led businesses to realise their export potential.
Another key focus of Export Week was encouraging businesses already exporting to expand into new markets. If every current exporter in the UK achieved this, it would go a long way towards meeting the Government’s target to double exports to £1 trillion by 2020.
So how can female entrepreneurs overcome the perceived barriers set out above? By linking with a partner company, like Kazopp, which already has experience and knowledge in country, the process of getting started in export can seem a lot less daunting. With already established contacts and business relationships, a partner can help to get products or services to market in the quickest time possible. This can save potential exporters months or years of research and groundwork, having to get to grips with local regulatory and tax requirements and other work that would otherwise be necessary to get started and which often puts business owners off pursuing growth in export markets. With the right advice, companies can also avoid the prospect of making mistakes early in their export journey into a new country.
If you like the idea of bringing your products or services straight to a vast new market, get in touch – we have nearly twenty years of experience of running and helping business in Kazakhstan with a vast array of contacts and advice to help your SME hit the ground running!
Posted 25/11/2014
One of a number of surveys published to coincide with UKTI’s recent Export Week events across the UK highlighted that one of the main perceived barriers to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) starting up exports is lack of contacts in foreign markets. But do SMEs really need to worry about this and by doing so, could they be missing out on a massive opportunity to see their business flourish?
Posted 06/11/2014
With UKTI’s 6th Export Week coming up next week, there was never a better time to get started in export. It’s well known that businesses that export are more profitable, more innovative and employ more people than those that don’t. Research also suggests that exporting companies see average growth of 30 % within two years of venturing to overseas markets. Follow our 10 Key Steps to Successful Exporting and get your business started in export!
If you’re an SME owner, you may be thinking that the capital outlay and man hours involved in the above steps effectively puts you out of the market for exports – in fact, you couldn’t be more wrong! A significant percentage of exporters are small businesses who have found innovative ways of circumventing some of the steps outlined above to access new markets.
Using specialist agents like Kazopp can dramatically reduce the cost and time involved in getting started in exports or beginning exports to a new country, so if you’re interested in opportunities in Kazakhstan, get in touch for a discussion as to how we might be able to help.