Stories

Kenyan IT companies take hard work in stride in the hunt for new export markets

31 May 2017
ITC News
Four women-led Kenyan information technology companies recently completed a rigorous coaching and training course and are now implementing Export Marketing Plans as they work to expand internationally

Preparing to enter international markets is hard work. Export strategies and plans for tech and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies in Kenya are anything but usual. But after a grueling six-month training and coaching course that culminated with the development of Export Marketing Plans (EMPs) paving the way into new markets, four Kenyan technology companies say the rewards are well worth the effort.

The International Trade Centre organized the training through its Netherlands Trust Fund III (NTF III) project in Kenya, which is implemented in collaboration with CBI and funded by the Dutch Government. The component, which ended in December 2016, was part of NTF III’s goal of boosting the export competitiveness of Kenyan information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services companies.

Four ‘tier one’ companies – essentially the NTF III leader companies – successfully wrote an Export Marketing Plan. These four – Adept Technologies, Attain Enterprise Solutions, GreenBell Communications and SawaSawa – are now working to implement their EMPs. Several of the other NTF III companies are receiving local coaching through NTF III and are developing marketing plans targeting Kenyan clients, said Esther Muchiri, the project’s national coordinator.

‘The four companies were doing very minimal exporting, and it wasn’t targeted marketing,’ she said. ‘They knew once they attended the training that this is what they needed and wanted. When they completed it, you should see the excitement on their face to have a document showing that they had completed it. One of them said that if this is all they get to take away from NTF, then they are happy with it.’

All four of those companies are led by women, underpinning the focus on NTF III to support the role of women in IT.

Four steps

The training and coaching sessions involved four steps, with participants first taking a close look at themselves and exploring what they could offer European markets, Muchiri said. Companies examined their products and services, identified potential challenges in exporting to Europe, and learned about their target markets. The companies then assessed their own strengths and weaknesses and what areas they needed to improve to sell in those markets.

Toward the end, the four participants developed sales and marketing plans identifying their export objectives, market entry strategies and the instruments they would use to market their products. They also put together action plans to help them reach their goals, and are now busily putting their knowledge to work.

‘Exceeded our expectations’

All are excited about their exporting prospects.

‘The training was excellent – it exceeded our expectations,’ said GreenBell marketing chief Brian Ngaira. ‘We have an export plan in place through this practical methodology. It was not just the training, but we practically formulated plans that were suited for industries. It was validated, and it’s now up to us to implement it.’

GreenBell’s managing director, Rose Maghas, agreed.

‘I thought I would come out understanding more what exports are and how to prepare for exports as a company,’ she said. ‘But we got a lot more. We ended up with an export marketing plan and an implementation plan for exporting. This means we are able to understand more how to identify a market, and focus and deliver for that market.’

GreenBell hopes to start exporting strategically to the UK and Switzerland as well as certain countries in East Africa, such as Uganda, Maghas said.

‘Being able to export strategically means we are able to put in resources and track that and embed it into our strategic positions,’ she explained. ‘Our EMP shows that by 2018 we will have a functional office in Uganda, and one in Europe by 2020. In the minimum, we will double our revenue by going into that market. In the first quarter of 2017, we will be doing the actual research on the possible revenue and revenue streams in these markets.’

New marketing strategy

Mumbi Muriuki said the training and coaching enabled Adept Technologies to determine which products would be most likely to sell overseas. ‘This will drive product development in the future, to meet market demands,’ said Muriuki, head of business development at the BPO company.

Adept is using the information gleaned from the training course to finetune its strategy, she said, adding that ‘there will be a change in the way marketing will be done going forward’.

‘The knowledge acquired during the training is relevant not just for the European Union, but for any export market,’ Muriuki said. ‘We will benefit not just by being able to develop strategies to enter the European market, but also other export markets we are targeting.’

Having an EMP that bring in new customers will help Adept boost revenue and hire more workers, she added.

GreenBell will also add staff as it implements its EMP and works to expand its customer base, Ngaira said. The company will hire export marketing managers this year to research African and European markets, and will then roll out its export plan in 2018.

‘One of our key objectives is to extend our reach into international markets,’ Ngaira said. ‘We saw that the training fit into our objectives, so we were really committed to it.’

The four companies that completed the training still have plenty of hard work ahead, but that hasn’t stopped them yet.