How can businesses grow beyond restrictions imposed by COVID-19?

In a world where enterprise is still held hostage by pandemic restraints, international growth might seem an impossible endeavour.

Certainly, organic growth has been challenging in these times. The challenges posed by business internationalisation are more complex than ever, due to restrictions on travel, conducting due diligence and establishing operational collateral in foreign geographies. In tandem, the pandemic shook the foundations of every international market, upheaving long-founded supply chains and regulations for expanding businesses.

Above all, the impact of the global health crisis exposed vulnerabilities in the way business mitigate social and economic threats; particularly those caused by conventional framings of development and global growth. According to a KPMG white paper, the companies that could not sustain operations throughout the pandemic were those that that failed to ‘seize opportunities’ offered by digital or hybrid solutions. The KPMG analysts advise executives to look beyond conventional means of survival:

‘Companies need to shift their focus to new opportunities. Companies on the lookout for emerging opportunities early on may find opportunities to create added value’

COVID-19 proved the need for organisations to outgrow existing operational fragilities, and to go digital. Several long-standing organisations that failed to adopt next-generation capacities faltered under pandemic pressure. They faced barriers that could have otherwise been avoided by more interconnected approaches.

In the light of last year’s events, businesses need to pre-empt the success of newer approaches to internationalisation. Nominally, they need to consider the benefits of hybrid service offerings and product platforms that will ease the expansion progress for them.

Zain Ali, CEO of global expansion company Centuro Global, believes that businesses will succeed by adhering to platform-based approaches to internationalisation. He identifies the trends and potential roadblocks that expanding organisations might face in the short and long-term; and how expansion solutions like Centuro Global’s ‘Go Global‘ and ‘Centuro Connect‘ offerings could remediate these bottlenecks.

Observing Current Challenges

When reflecting on the pandemic’s fallout on international markets, Centuro Global’s Zain Ali is sympathetic to the uncertainty that ambitious businesses now face.

‘Enterprises now encounter an unprecedented journey ahead in rebuilding themselves post-pandemic. Many might find the process of entering new markets to be burdensome. Without the right resources or local expertise, they will not be able to navigate tax, regulatory or personnel requirements with much success’

He foresees that winning new business in foreign markets, preparing staff for remote working post-expansion, building out staff and a solid client base on new turf to be substantial challenges for enterprises. To surpass these issues, Zain advises executives to ‘remain focused on client and customer at all times’, and to integrate adaptable solutions to ensure your success.

Zain’s first-hand experience intellectual property law, tactile management and corporate consultancy have deftly informed his expertise on the matter. In observing businesses overcome various hurdles required of them during expansion endeavours, Zain was motivated to find a more agile solution for the process. The brainchild of this pursuit was Centuro Global: a premier offering that democratises the internationalisation process for businesses.

Even outside of a pandemic setting, business internationalisation can be a difficult journey – if not managed correctly. To help organisations adapt to the changing post-pandemic landscape, Zain and the Centuro Global team are committed to safeguarding businesses throughout their entire journey. The team has achieved this by taking stock of the obstacles that its members have overcome as individuals; and by integrating these into a shareable, digital solution.

Global Expansion Platforms: A Necessary Tool for Growing Companies?

In the days of yesteryear, companies relied on disparate solutions to curate their expansion strategy. In recent times, these methods now prove inadequate in supporting companies throughout the entire expansion process and beyond.

At surface level, traditional methods may have helped organisations to plant themselves in new geographies. Beyond incorporation and regular procedures, these routes do little in the way of helping organisations establishing themselves fully in unfamiliar localities.

Platform solutions like those provided by Centuro Global sidestep this issue by ensuring that its users gain a powerful understanding of the business, operational and social cultures that drive international economies. As Zain states, the Centuro Global’s platform products connect executives with local business leaders who understand new territories intimately; thus removing any ‘red tape’ surrounding core business objectives.

‘Centuro Global empowers companies by connecting them with on-ground experts. Through our interface and technology, client users can inform their expansion process in collaboration with executives who operate locally. Our model offers ease of access and connections to people they can trust, each step of the way’

Uniquely, Centuro Global acts as a gateway for the world of international commerce and opportunity. It affords both users and local entities the opportunity to connect, network and exchange much needed insights. By reshaping and ‘democratising’ the way businesses communicate with each other on a global scale, the platforms engender new interactions between truly international executives.

Digital Tools for Future Growth

As consumer confidence rebounds, businesses will need to cast their attention to recovery preparations. Multiple sectors will inevitably experience new-found growth and the release of previously suppressed demand. The prospect of successful international expansion will be renewed, and many organisations will be tempted to follow through on this pursuit.

A McKinsey report believes that APAC markets will be particularly attractive for expanding businesses. In particular, China, Australia and Singapore are likely hotspots for future internationalisation.

‘But China’s profile proves a larger point. The first country to be hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was also the first to emerge from it. China’s consumers are relieved—and spending accordingly […] Except for international air travel, Chinese consumers have begun to act and spend largely as they did in precrisis time. Australia also offers hope. With the pandemic largely contained in that country, household spending fueled a faster-than-expected 3.3 percent growth rate in the third quarter of 2020, and spending on goods and services rose 7.9 percent’

In anticipation of this phenomenon, Zain believes that both of the Centuro Global platforms will prove invaluable in ensuring overall success. As UK, EU and US based businesses look to the East for new opportunities, platforms like those offered by Centuro Global will be necessary tools for organisations across the board.

Looking Ahead

The promise of progress always attracts budding entrepreneurs, no matter their industry.

In adapting to the pandemic, many of these ambitious executives saw the necessity in adapting and inventing new ways to operate. In the technology sector specifically, entrepreneurs have incited tremendous growth through digitisation. They would certainly benefit from signing up to platforms like Centuro Global’s Go Global and Centuro Connect, which are now offering a free sign-up for scaling businesses. 

The work spearheaded by Zain Ali and the Centuro Global team is testament to the success that resilient businesses can enjoy, no matter the circumstances. The company’s platforms will enable upcoming businesses to follow in its executives’ footsteps, and to drive future innovations to come.