A 2013 Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) survey, found that 11% of UK social enterprises are exporting their goods and services internationally. Expanding overseas, whether that’s exporting existing goods or services, developing services for an international market or even social franchising or licensing with partners in other countries, can help many social enterprises deliver their main business and social aims.
Social entrepreneurs branching out abroad for the first time, however, may feel daunted by the prospect of exploring a new market. We spoke to social enterprise owners who have made a success from exporting, and asked for their top tips:
Sophi Tranchell, managing director of Divine Chocolate
Divine Chocolate sells to the US and Canada, as well as Scandinavia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Australia and South Korea.
Understand the value of your product and how it fits with the potential new market: when looking to export for the first time, make sure the products or services you are offering are appropriate for the new territory, both logistically and culturally. When starting to sell chocolate in different markets, we were very conscious that people’s tastes vary from country to country. We have found our recipe matches tastes in northern Europe and the USA more than continental Europe and our product is not suitable for markets where dairy products are still not commonly eaten – for example, Japan.
Identify your unique selling point – what element of your business could be attractive to your export market? Will being a social enterprise be a selling point for you?
Gather a strong support network: when working outside your home market, you’re exposed to new risks. Use all the support and advice at your disposal. Training staff or recruiting specialists can support the business internally, and externally it is important to ensure you have sought specific expertise, particularly with regards to compliance, which can be complicated and is vital to get right.
The best way to start? Do a little research. Explore the New Markets section of the Business is Great Britain website. It offers an insight into real people doing business abroad and shows you some of the services government can offer. A £400,000 government loan guarantee from the Department for International Development (DFID) allowed our company to secure finance and enable the cocoa farmers in Ghana to own a share of the business. I can confidently say, without this support, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
Chania Waithera Lackey, co-founder of Swaheelies
Swaheelie’s primary markets are the US and the UK.
Have a clear understanding of who your global competitors are: the products or social enterprise focus may be different but there will always be a consumer who will look at your business and compare with another, finding similarities in ethos or even that the products are coming from the same jurisdiction. Find out who these competitors are. What is your comparative advantage? Why will your product work? How can you ensure the uniqueness of your social enterprise is projected to the consumer?
Think about how you will get people to care about your social enterprise: given that social enterprises are about the story behind the product or the story behind the business, how will you ensure that your business and message will be appreciated by a global consumer? The only way to do that is through marketing. But it must be clear. Which marketing channels work in certain markets and which don’t?
Matt Kepple, CEO of Makerble
A social enterprise in the early stages of global expansion.
Touch base with UK Trade and Investment (UKTI): the government body organised the trade missions which took us to Singapore and New York. In New York, Makerble is connected with legal advisors, recruitment consultants and business growth specialists. Getting the visas right is important when you’re setting up overseas and knowing whether you need to incorporate a new business entity in that country is key. Having an in-depth immersion in the lay of the land from a legal and costs perspective is a great start.
Understand how you will manage client expectations. Makerble is a subscriptions service which means that every month we need to be delivering customer service to our cohort of donors. Currently we’d be stretched doing this for customers across widely differing time zones, so we’re staggering our global roll-out.
The international social enterprise hub is funded by the British Council. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled ‘brought to you by’. Find out more here.
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