What is working capital? Working capital is the money you need for delivering your products or services to a client, before you will receive payment. If you turnover grows, mostly your working capital need will grow as well. If you export to other countries, deliveries and payments mostly take longer, so your working capital need…

If you plan to expand you company abroad, you will also have to take into account the investments that go along with it. A new market entry may easily costs you 100,000 USD in investments, let alone the working capital. How to determine how much money you need? And what are ways to finance your…

In keeping with the mandate set forth by the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law (PAL), the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW) in Japan regulates cosmetic production, importation, exportation, and use.  In legal parlance, beauty products are classified as quasi-drugs and cosmetics. What is cosmetics? The law states that cosmetics are “articles with mild action on…

Over the last few years, the Ethiopian Government has prioritized the transformation of the agricultural sector of the country. The country has devoted time and effort to craft the Livestock Master Plan (LMP) which will serve as the roadmap to develop their livestock sector. The value chains within the Ethiopian livestock sector are: Crossbred dairy…

Ethiopia’s government wants to diversify exports from agricultural product to strategic sectors like textile and garment manufacturing. Ethiopia’s long history in textiles began in 1939 when the first garment factory was established. Based on Ethiopian country data, in the last 5 to 6 years, the textile, and apparel industry have grown at an average of…

Japan’s rapidly aging urban population has led to a shortage of qualified medical personnel and facilities nationwide. A continuous exodus from other parts of Japan to Tokyo and the dwindling birth rate has increased the economic disparity between the capital and the rest of the country. To resolve this, the government is encouraging the populace…

Thailand is known to promote wellness and good health. Following Indonesia, Thailand is the second largest healthcare market in the SEA, making up 20% of the total healthcare expenditure in the region. Country data shows that Thailand’s healthcare expenditure is to exhibit strong growth over the next 5 years. From 2016-2020, the country’s healthcare sector…

What should you know about Tanzania’s business culture? Tanzanian culture highly values establishing good relationships, and this reflects even in terms of business. Greetings are very important and should be given a fair amount of time since this will be the starting point of the business relationship. Small talk is encouraged to establish rapport, and…

With the US being considered as one of the world’s biggest economies, the American apparel market is by far the largest in the world. It is 50% bigger than China’s retail segment. In fact, the top global retail companies are largely American. Though there has been a decline in the market brought about by the…

Brazil is the world’s seventh largest economy and the 8th biggest automotive producer. When it comes to producing new light vehicles, Brazil is the 6th largest producer. This industry comprises 5.5% of the GDP of the country contributing an amount worth BRL 266 bn. Production Output Although Brazil is the world’s 8th biggest automotive producer,…

Japan is a globally competitive and progressive country. It is also considered to be an economic superpower. A very large contributor to Japan’s impressive reputation is its highly progressive automotive industry. Are you looking for an agent or distributor in Japan? Read more… What should you know about the Japanese automotive industry? The Japanese automotive…

What do we know about consumers in Panama? Panama is home to 4 million inhabitants with Spanish being its primary language. The top earning 10% in Panama possess more than 40% of the nation’s wealth, while the poorest 10% share only 1.1% of the total national earnings. This shows a huge discrepancy between the have…