This week’s 10th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg highlights the growing opportunities for South Africa’s Small and Medium Businesses to export their goods and services to emerging market peers such as Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Pieter Bensch, Executive Vice President, Africa & Middle East at Sage, says that, paired with South Africa’s support for the African Continental Free Trade Area, this demonstrates that government is looking strategically at how we can export and globalise our country’s dynamic and innovative start-ups, scale-up and small companies.
“At Sage, we welcome Small Business Minister, Lindiwe Zulu’s focus on working with the other BRICS nations to remove the barriers to trade between the countries in the bloc,” said Bensch.
“We agree with her that there are wonderful opportunities for partnership between government, big business and the SMMEs and co-operative sector across all five nations. It is a good start that South Africa has signed an agreement to share knowledge and exchange ideas among state financial institutions in South Africa, Brazil and Russia.
“BRICS countries account for 15.4% of South Africa’s global exports and 25.4% of our imports. Together, the African Continental Free Trade Area and the BRICS nations represent more than half the world’s population. As trade and economic ties between emerging nation peers strengthen, we can imagine many export opportunities opening for South African businesses in the years to come.
“Government should be looking at ways to support smaller businesses by reducing regulatory barriers, evaluating more tax incentives and grants for companies that export successfully and streamlining tax compliance so our businesses are well-positioned to compete in the world’s fastest growing markets around the world.”
