Your Next Big Export Opportunity?

Three years ago I worked on a feature for PROFIT Magazine about opportunities for Canadian exporters in Nigeria. Some people snickered.

Chronically broke, tragically and corruptly misgoverned, Nigeria has been the poster boy for failed African regimes. In fact, with its difficulties enforcing the law and its subsequent reputation as ground zero for spam Internet scams – not to mention its inability to secure its own oil refineries from terrorists – Nigeria had become a laughing stock.

A sad fate for an English-speaking country of 140 million people brimming with natural resources. In 2004, per capita GDP was just $430, compared to $444 in 1977.

But all that may be changing. An article from INSEAD, the France-based international business school, sees reassuring signs at last of a turnaround in Nigeria.

* The crackdown on corruption has led to the seizure of $5 billion in assets for the state.

* With the election in 2007 of president Umaru Yar'Adua, Nigeria has now held three elections in a row without a coup d’état – which some observers consider a signal to invest.

* Government fiscal reforms have broken the link between oil prices and government spending. Between 2003 and 2006, foreign reserves increased fivefold to about $38 billion. (They're now around $$60 billion.) The government is nearly debt-free. (Take that, George Bush!)

* Since 2003, Nigeria’s GDP growth has averaged about 7% a year.

* Despite record-high oil prices, non-oil revenue is playing a bigger role. Agriculture contributes 42% of Nigeria's GDP.

There are still challenges, to be sure, including inadequate power supplies, roads and public transportation, and issues around the enforcement of contracts and a national ID system. But with improved governance and rising revenues, these issues can now be addressed.

Oil infrastructure, roads, transit, agriculture, power, the beginnings of a stable banking system. Opportunities for Canadian exporters, engineers and service providers?

What do you think?

Read the complete story here.

Related story: Can Western business afford to ignore Africa any longer?

Magna, Manga and the Rising Sun

Speaking of exporting… (see previous post), the Globe’s Marcus Gee has an eye-opening article today on Japan. Basically, he’s reminding Canadian business people that in their rush to make their fortune in China, they shouldn't ignore the opportunities in the land of the rising sun.

Marcus dug up these facts you may not have known:

* Japan is still the world's second biggest economy, bigger than China and India combined.
* Greater Tokyo alone has a larger gross domestic product than China.
* Canadian high-tech exports to Japan are growing 15% a year. More than 60 Canadian high-tech companies are now based in Japan - surpassing the number of companies in more traditional export sectors such as agriculture and resources.
* Between 1994 and 2006, the share of Japanese imports from Canada in non-resource areas - aerospace, pharmaceuticals, machinery, consumer goods – has risen to 9.5% of total trade from 4.5%.
* “Magna and other Canadian car parts companies are active in Japan, as are more than 20 Canadian software companies, some of them exploiting the thriving animation business around Japanese comic forms such as anime and manga.”

Gee says all kinds of opportunities beckon to Canadian entrepreneurs: in financial services (Manulife Financial is a winner there), medical services, elder care, and pharmaceuticals. And also in high-end fashion, outdoor wear and cosmetics, biotech and nanotech, aerospace, and environmental industries.

Rightly, he admits there are still many barriers to doing business in Japan. “Its efforts at reforming and deregulating the economy to make it more flexible and more open to foreign interests have been halting at best. Since the departure of reforming prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, they seem to have run out of steam altogether.”

Still, he concludes, as industrialized democracies, "Canada and Japan have lots in common - more, you could argue, than Canada and China. They should start showing it.”

Until it slips behind the dreaded pay wall, you can read Marcus’s column here.

Going Global - Together

It’s a big day here at Canadian Entrepreneur. We’re launching the first in a three-episode series of podcasts from UPS Canada on business growth and exporting.

To quote the official release:

"Reaching out a helping hand to Canada’s small business market, UPS Canada today announced the launch of a new advice-oriented podcast series called Logistically Speaking. Hosted by Canadian small business expert, journalist and blogger Rick Spence, the podcasts will be available for download through iTunes and other podcast directories, as well as on UPS.com.

“We’re always on the lookout for new ways to reach Canada’s small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), providing them with advice to help them stay competitive in today’s global marketplace,” said Greg Kane, vice-president of communications for UPS Canada. “With limited time and resources on their hands, we felt a podcast would be an ideal way to reach out to busy entrepreneurs and offer downloadable tips and tools for improving their businesses.”

UPS deserves a lot of credit on this project. This is not a “sell”-- it’s an attempt to provide information that real people need. The focus is on information, and there’s good information here if you give it a listen.

Of course, if enough people listen to the podcast, we'll do more of them.

And it’s on iTunes. Next maybe I’ll be hanging out with Bono at the Grammies.

In this month's episode, I’m interviewing Justine Hendricks, Regional Vice-President of Small Business Sales, Export Development Canada, on the topic: Why Go Global? Lots of great info and inspiration from a woman who knows her stuff.

You can hear or download the 'cast here. It’ll take you 10 minutes to listen.
Let me know what you think.

Europe's Best Opportunity?

My daughter just got back from a cruise of the Baltic Sea region (verdict: rainy, cold, absolutely fascinating!). She was especially keen on Estonia, a country she had barely heard of. In fact, since it has been dominated by Russia/the Soviet Union for most of our lives, few of us know much at all about Estonia or its neighbours, Latvia and Lithuania.

InfoExport Canada, the federal agency that helps exporters, is hoping that will change fast. It’s urging Canadian entrepreneurs to catch on to the opportunities presented by these three “Baltic Tigers.”

“Since accession to the European Union in 2004, these countries have posted the highest growth rates of any member country. So it comes as no surprise that American, European, Nordic and Asian companies have set up shop there to sell, invest and use these three countries as launching pads to the more than 640 million consumers in Russia and the EU.”

Canada's ambassador to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, Claire Poulin, says now’s the time for Canadians to do business there. "They have only been independent for 16 years, which is very little in the history of a country, so what they have achieved so far is nothing short of amazing."

Estonia is now Europe's leader in e-government and e-education, and Lithuania is a transportation powerhouse. "For Canadian companies, some of the biggest opportunities in all these countries can be found in construction and building products (including green building products), the agri-food sector, information and communications technologies, and energy and environment," says Poulin.

She says the infusion of massive infusions of EU 'structural funds' are fuelling a boom in residential and commercial construction, as well as energy, railways, roads and IT.

“Since the EU funding won't last forever, Canadian firms might want to explore this potential right now,” says InfoExport.

A caveat: Fifty years of Soviet rule left a legacy of corruption. ‘As the Baltics start to meet EU standards, corruption is getting harder to hide," says Poulin. "These countries are working hard to assure foreign companies that these are very good places to do business.’"

Overall, says Poulin, “Income and corporate tax rates are low, and EU and NATO accession has given these nations a boost of confidence. There are too many opportunities to ignore.”

For more information, contact Irena Cirpuse, Canadian Embassy in Riga, and go to http://www.infoexport.gc.ca/.