Business Support

The SANEC Business Support service is aimed at supporting you accelerate your business. We have a large network of specialists who can assist you with business development and the challenges you might face. We think beyond borders and have local expertise to take your company or organization to the next level.


We provide five structured Business Support services:

 

Trade Enquiries
We regularly receive trade enquiries from companies and entrepreneurs engaged in SANEC’s membership programme. As your first point of entry into southern Africa and the Netherlands, SANEC can pick up your trade enquiry directly. We can cater to you if you are looking to find information on a specific export market, or want to import or export products or services to and from southern Africa, or if you are looking for trade statistics between South Africa and the Netherlands.

SANEC supports you with all your trade enquiries concerning the Netherlands and southern Africa. We have gained experience over the years and are quick to provide you with important answers! For example with regards to:

  • Import/export tax
  • Legislation
  • Bank enquiries
  • Office-in-office functionality.

 

Project Finance Desk
In 2014 SANEC will engage in a number of pilot projects aimed at helping SANEC members access project finance. Often, entrepreneurs and small & medium sized businesses face a finance gap when it comes to making a business move into southern Africa or the Netherlands. Initial investment is essential for an entrepreneur and SME realise growth and development. SANEC has therefore identified the need to support its Members with a project finance desk, a service that can connect members to relevant funds and financing programmes.

This desk will be developed in 2014 in cooperation with SANEC’s network to identify public financing agents, private investors, venture capitalists in southern Africa, Brussels and the Netherlands. The desk will help to answer your questions about the financing structures: loans, equity and mezzanine type of financing as well as to advise on interesting combinations herein.

African growth story
“It’s quite obvious that the fast growing economies in Africa need capital to reach their ambitious targets. On the supply side we noticed an increased interest of the Western investor community to take part in the African growth story. Not only for a financial return but also for social returns via impact investments”.
Jan Welkzijn - Valemoya B.V.

 

CSR-Desk
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can broadly be defined as the concept that corporations should voluntarily commit to ethical, responsible business practices, reflecting the interest of all stakeholders in the company’s policies and actions. In 2014 SANEC will launch a CSR desk with partners, to benefit members who are keen on including and/or increasing CSR standards in their organization. The desk is also meant to promote CSR, sustainability, as well as highlighting the stories of success within the SANEC network.

Adding value to your business
‘People shouldn’t see CSR as a burden, but rather as an important tool for adding value to their business. CSR is crucial, as businesses don’t run in isolation. It is all about starting small today’.
Tjeerd Grimmius - Intervolve

 

Starting-up your company
SANEC provides a ‘One Stop Shop’ to help companies start their operations in the Netherlands and South(ern) Africa. We offer one service package to assist you with expanding or starting up your company. Different elements involved are: Branding, tax, banking, moving & housing, ICT, visa, trust and permits.

Unlock potential
“Transparent is a data mining company that deploys technology, skills and people to utilise the potential of financial information. We identify double payments, over payments and recover working capital. We help to unlock the potential on a global scale by optimizing processes, providing insight and offer financial remedies for future wins. Our presence in South Africa requires us to obtain documents such as visa and company registration. SANEC’s ‘One Stop Shop’ is for Transparent of great assistance. SANECs hands on mentality, professional staff and network with experts, makes doing business in South Africa a more pleasurable experience for Transparent.”
Carolina van der Ark - Transparent S.A. (Pty)Ltd

 

B-BBEE Desk
SANEC and partners advise companies of B-BBEE to start their operations in South Africa. It will enlighten companies of BBB-EE Implementation strategies through reliable consultants and specialists through the B-BBEE desk. Members of the desk will receive a suite of services on B-BBEE including:

  • Ratings
  • Advisory
  • Verification
  • Training
  • Advocacy and lobbying
  • Consolidated Score card
  • Reports on B-BBEE


“B-BBEE is an important criteria for doing business in South Africa. We as the Business Opportunity School pty ltd (BOS) improve/develop/ professionalize the commercial processes of our B2B partners. Making them and their customers more successful and profitable. We do this in South Africa and other parts of the world. Through our membership with SANEC we were able to attend a workshop on the new B-BBEE codes of conduct. An extensive workshop providing us with the right tools and the right network. This is where we see the added value of SANEC.”
Niels Bertschat - Area Director Southern Africa BOS