Construction World February 2018

Doing business in Africa: Take away • Meet your client in South Africa first, research them & do trade reference checks. • Travel to see the proposed project site at the client’s expense. • Do not invest in a client that does not have the budget to afford your product or services. • Protect yourself against currency fluctuations and work in ZAR where possible. • Enlist the services of a financial insurance company to protect your project financially. • Always let the client take risk for any out-of-country expenses. • Have the client arrange local transport and logistics. • Always send more material than necessary on a construction project. • Make sure you have medical cover for your staff. • Vaccinate appropriately and timeously. • Be aware of requirements of shipping and take necessary precautions to guard against risk. • Do not engage in bribery; there is always an alternative. While our advice for conducting business in Africa is particular to our business of timber and log construction, it can be applied universally. The continent and its people have so much to offer and we consider it a privilege to be able bring our brand of building – profitably – beyond South Africa’s borders. Anyone with a business or business idea from which the African market can benefit can do much the same,” Slabbert concludes.

Risk cover Before sending any staff to site, ensure medical cover is in place for all company staff. Find out what vaccinations will be necessary for the trip and how long in advance these need to be administered to be effective. Another difficult issue that can come with doing business in Africa is bribery. Eco Log Homes has a zero-tolerance approach to this and has found creative ways in which to continue conducting business without having to resort to such activities. When it does happen, bribery is often concentrated at border posts, making access to the destination, especially with materials, a challenge if one is not prepared to pay up. By involving the client in the local logistics of the project in the first place, the problem of bribery can be bypassed and both supplier or contractor and the client can rest easy in the knowledge of having conducted their business above board. 

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD FEBRUARY 2018