Through UK Trade & Investment's (UKTI) Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) and participation in a trade mission to South Africa, Yorkshire-based management consultancy Equas Ltd found partners and clients in South Africa. UKTI helped Equas find suitable partners in South Africa, provided an OMIS report to research the local market, and introduced Equas to government and business contacts. As a result, Equas established three partners in major South African cities and has since expanded its reach to other southern African countries through these partners. Equas credits UKTI's support with making the process of expanding into overseas markets simple and successful.

1. Through its Overseas Market
Introduction Service (OMIS)
and a trade mission,
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI)
has helped Yorkshire-based
management consultancy
Equas Ltd to find partners and
clients in South Africa.
Technophobes have no need to
worry with Equas Ltd’s simple and
highly effective management systems.
Designed so that anyone can use them
with ease, the company’s systems have
helped hundreds of organisations to
improve their efficiency and achieve
internationally recognised standards.
The business was set up in 2000 by
Mike Dowd, now its Sales Director
and David Morgan, its Managing
Director. They first met when working
as franchisees of a cost reduction
business and the idea of their first
management system, ISO in a
BOX, evolved to help companies
meet International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) standards or
simply to increase the efficiency of their
organisation. The company operates
around the UK through 14 franchisees
and consultants who implement its
systems with businesses in their region.
In 2010, Equas introduced a second
management tool – the ‘Activ Online
Management System’.
“Activ is SaaS, (software as a service)
and is delivered online, enabling
us to look abroad for management
consultancy partners who can introduce
the product to their customers,” says
Mike. “ISO standards are global, so
the number of potential markets for us
to pursue is unlimited but it’s easier
to work with countries where English
is the business language. We found a
partner in Holland who was competing
for business in the UK, and a partner in
Denmark through an introduction from
a contact in the UK. That’s how our
exports began.”
Exploring overseas markets
Equas first contacted UKTI in Yorkshire
in mid-2010, when the opportunity to
win business in Oman arose through its
existing business contacts.
UKTI provided grant support for a visit
to Oman, where the company found a
new customer.
UKTI continued to stay in touch with
Equas and in October 2012 invited
the company to participate in a trade
mission to South Africa due to take
place in March 2013. In preparation
for the trip, Equas commissioned an
OMIS report, half of which was funded
by UKTI. Its brief was to provide
information about the local market and
identify suitable partners with whom the
company could work.
“ Without UKTI we wouldn’t
know where to start
developing customers and
partners overseas. Through
OMIS and the trade
mission, they made the
process very simple”
Mike Dowd, Sales Director, Equas Ltd
Actively
exporting
Fast facts
Company: Equas Ltd
Industry: Business consultancy
Target Market: South Africa
UKTI Services: Overseas Market
Introduction Service
www.online-management-system.com

2. “ UKTI’s help has been excellent so far and we still meet
regularly with its representatives in Yorkshire and attend
networking events”
Mike Dowd, Sales Director, Equas Ltd
Published July 2013
by UK Trade Investment
© Crown Copyright
Helping you access
international markets
Doing business in another country
can be a challenge, so it’s good to
know that UK Trade Investment is
there to help you succeed.
Through a range of unique services,
including participation at selected
trade fairs, overseas missions
and providing bespoke market
intelligence, UK Trade Investment
can help you crack foreign markets
and quickly get to grips with
regulations and business practices
overseas.
UK Trade Investment’s Overseas
Market Introduction Service (OMIS)
is a flexible business tool, letting you
use the services of our trade teams,
located in our embassies, high
commissions and consulates across
the world, to benefit your business.
A service package could include:
• Market, sector advice
• Analysis of market entry strategies
• Support during overseas visits
• Identification of possible
business partners
UKTI was delighted to support
Equas Ltd in its business overseas.
To find an advisor in your
chosen market and begin
your own success story
now, scan this code with
your smart phone or visit
www.ukti.gov.uk/export
+44(0)20 7215 5000
UK Trade Investment is the
Government Department that helps
UK-based companies succeed in
the global economy. We also help
overseas companies bring their
high-quality investment to the UK’s
dynamic economy. We provide
companies with the tools they
require to be competitive on the
world stage.
UKTI provided a list of 12 prospective
partners, of which Equas shortlisted six.
The company went on to meet four of
these, three of whom became partners
based in Johannesburg, Pretoria
and Cape Town. During the trade
mission UKTI also introduced Equas to
representatives of national, regional and
local government, and provided market
insights specifically pertaining to South
Africa. For example, UKTI made sure that
the company was mindful of the Broad
Based Black Economic Empowerment
regulations, the legislation involved in
rectifying inequality issues and favours
participation and involvement of black
people (South African citizens who
are African, Coloured and Indian) in
businesses bidding for public sector
contracts.
“Without UKTI we wouldn’t know where
to start developing customers and
partners overseas,” says Mike. “Through
OMIS and the trade mission, they made
the process very simple. Since the trip to
South Africa, I and our IT manager have
returned to conduct a week’s training for
our partners’ employees. Our partners
are now enabling us to reach customers
across southern Africa, for example in
Namibia, Mozambique and Botswana,
as well as in South Africa.”
Expanding exports
Meanwhile, one of Equas’s franchisees
is moving to the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) in August 2013, so the company
is taking the opportunity to introduce
its products there. Given the success
of UKTI’s involvement in getting it
established in South Africa, Equas
sought its support again. UKTI invited
the new Franchisee and a Director of the
company to a seminar specifically about
doing business in the UAE, and a further
OMIS report is in the pipeline. The
company also plans to find partners
in New Zealand and Australia in the
coming years.
At the start of 2013, Equas developed
the ability to translate Activ into any
language. The company is now able to
look closer to home at markets that don’t
work primarily in English, for example
Germany, France and Spain.
“Our overseas clients currently account
for only about 5 per cent of our business,
but we’d like to see this grow,” says
Mike. “UKTI’s help has been excellent
so far and we still meet regularly with its
representatives in Yorkshire and attend
networking events. We will definitely
work with UKTI again to tap into other
new markets. I would recommend any
company looking to expand overseas to
use UKTI’s services.”
The UK and South Africa
South Africa is an ideal export market for
UK companies due to similar financial
and legal systems, a familiar business
culture where English is the primary
business language and a time difference
which is never more than two hours.
Covering only three per cent of the
African continent, South Africa
accounts for a massive 40 per cent
of industrial output and is by far the
most sophisticated free-market
economy in Africa.
The South African Government has
embarked on an ambitious capital
expenditure programme worth
approximately £270 billion over the
next eight years, with the majority of
the spending taking place in public
infrastructure and power generation.
There are however, many other
opportunities that exist for the UK’s
innovative, world-class products,
services and technology in different
sectors of the economy.
For further information
about business opportunities
in South Africa, please go to
www.ukti.gov.uk/southafrica