7 guidelines are provided for conducting business in developing countries: 1. Consult people with firsthand experience in the country to learn tips and facilitate partnerships. 2. Develop relationships with local residents who provide political and practical insight and assistance. 3. Have a clear plan for transferring money out of the country since liquidating funds can be difficult. 4. Research the market and its needs to ensure the business idea is feasible for the population.

1. 7 GUIDELINES FOR CONDUCTING BUSINESS IN
THE DEVELOPING WORLD
DR. EHSAN BAYAT

2. 7 GUIDELINES FOR CONDUCTING BUSINESS IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD
 Doing business in the developing world comes with an entirely new set of challenges alongside those
usually associated with entrepreneurship. At the same time, addressing these issues helps drive
development and fights both poverty and hungry by creating more jobs.
 Each country has its own, unique challenges and the experience of each entrepreneur in that
jurisdiction will be different. However, some basic guidelines exist for conducting business in
developing nations. While businesspeople will still likely experience a number of setbacks while doing
business in these countries, the following tips can help keep them to a minimum:

3. 1. CONSULT PEOPLE IN YOUR NETWORK WITH FIRSTHAND
EXPERIENCE.
 Before you start developing business ties in a new country, reach out to your professional network,
including friends, professors, former classmates, or colleagues who have lived in that area.
Professionals may even consider searching LinkedIn for potential connections or friends of friends if no
one they know has direct experience. Such individuals can have some great tips about how businesses
work in that country and potentially facilitate additional partnerships that will make it much easier to
establish new business.

4. 2. DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOCAL RESIDENTS.
 While business contacts are extremely important, so are local residents. Business professionals should
try to spend time with locals whenever possible and pick up as much of the language as they can.
Locals have a great deal of political and bureaucratic insight, as well as practical knowledge. When
something unexpected happens, locals may be the best source of assistance, so it makes sense to
have already established strong relationships with them. Cultural humility is extremely important in this
situation. Even when individuals think they know the customs, having that conversation can be the
foundation for a strong friendship.

5. 3. THINK ABOUT THE LOGISTICS OF MONEY TRANSFER.
 An endless number of potentially lucrative business ideas exist when it comes to the developing world.
These regions could benefit from businesses in any number of industries, from healthcare to
agriculture. Thus, making money is usually not the hard part. The difficulties come when individuals
need to make money liquid.
 Business professionals should have a clear plan for how to get money out of the country and into their
pockets. In developing countries, it is important to find a way to obtain payment from people who
owe it. Start by looking into businesses that have already successfully addressed these issues in a
particular country and asking how they did it.

6. 4. RESEARCH THE MARKET AND ITS NEEDS.
 Before deciding to pursue business in a developing nation, entrepreneurs need to learn as much as
possible about the market to ensure that the idea is feasible. Individuals should have a good sense for
what the needs of the market are and who their potential customers would be. Quantifying the
number of likely clients can help entrepreneurs determine whether or not a business will be profitable
or not. Often, the needs and expectations of a developing nation are different than those of
developed countries. People in these countries, for example, may be more interested in sustainability
since resources are limited.

7. 5. LEARN AS MUCH ABOUT POLITICS AND POLICIES AS POSSIBLE.
 Much of the risk involved with starting a business in developing nations stems from political instability.
This can mean policies that change overnight, suddenly rendering business impossible. Entrepreneurs
should have a good sense of the recent political history of a country, as well as its longer history, to
have a better idea of what to expect in the years to come.
 Business development is possible during periods of instability. However, it is important to understand
where policies originate and how they are enforced, as well as the regulatory debates current
happening in jurisdiction. Notably, policies can be radically different between different jurisdictions in a
single country because of local politics.

8. 6. UNDERSTAND THE COST AND RELIABILITY OF
INFRASTRUCTURE.
 People who live in developed countries sometimes take things like electricity and clean water for
granted, but this sort of infrastructure does not always exist in developing countries. Even when the
infrastructure exists, it may not work reliably. However, the digital age has facilitated a number of
processes. For example, individuals no longer have to rely on electricity for telephone or internet
access, although paying for wireless technologies can be costly. Entrepreneurs should think about the
infrastructure they need to conduct business, its reliability and security, and possible back-up plans.

9. 7. APPROACH CONTRACTS WITH A GREAT DEAL OF CAUTION.
 In the context of a developing country, contracts become extremely important. Entrepreneurs need to
consider every contingency and account for them. The assumption that people will be reasonable
when something unanticipated occurs should not be made. Each contract should have very clear
wording on who can make decisions or spend money and who does not have such authority. In
general, entrepreneurs should have a trusted signatory or co-signatory on business accounts. Many
contracts stipulate that disputes should be settled in a neutral county to avoid issues with corruption.