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Habé Roode - Hygrotech International Inc. |
June 2003 |
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How
different has your experience been, given the particular
situation in Southern Africa, from what a young European
or American would have gone through? |
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Hygrotech,
since it’s inception in 1984, had a vision to expand into
Southern Africa at one point or other and, when the opportunity
came after the South African democracy and new government in
1994, we "saddled the wild horses" to establish subsidiaries in
Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya and Mozambique
over a period of four years. These moves put enormous
demands on management and required considerable logistics to establish
infrastructure with regard to local investors, personnel,
premises, systems and above all, the right products that were
needed to have Hygrotech accepted as a serious and committed
agricultural player in those countries.
To accept, adapt to, and work in these
varied cultures was quite a challenge and that by itself
is vastly different from what a young European or American
would have gone through, perhaps in trying to establish
branches and subsidiaries in other European countries or
states within the USA.
Although Africa, and in our case
Southern Africa (SADC countries) has a tremendous potential as
an emerging market, the varying customer needs from
subsistence or small scale farming to up-market export
directed and foreign-owned fresh produce grower organizations,
put high demands on the company’s resources, specific products
and technical support. It takes a number of years before local
communities trust and accept a new player as a serious,
committed local company with a mission to stay, develop their
products in the market and provide a purposeful service to the
community. |
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