Apr 23 2012
Are You Export Ready?
Enterprise Ireland’s new program to help first time exporters.
Damian Scattergood and Rena Cushion from Enterprise Ireland Get Export Ready program discussing languages for exporters.
Last Wednesday we attend Enterprise Irelands export event in the Clarion Hotel in Santry. It was a very interesting event focused on EI’s new “Get Export Ready” program.
With so many companies in Ireland growing their international businesses the event was really well attended.
The guest speaker was John Byrne of Byrne Looby Partners, International Consulting Engineers who shared his experiences in developing overseas markets such as Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi etc. They’ve done a great job in a tough business environment.
The day also covered EI’s “Get Export Ready” program which has recently been launched. This new program outlines all the key areas for any new business going into international markets, from market research, funding, advice and on-going training.
The site offers a free Export Ready Healthcheck that you can complete and enables you to build your business plan for exporting.
By developing your business overseas you can ..
- Spread the business risk across markets
- Open your company to new ideas for products and services
- Achieve greater economies of scale and become more cost-competitive
- Enhance your credibility with customers
- Increase the skills, knowledge and expertise within your company
There was a number of great hints and tips given on the day to help you gain traction in your new markets.
A topic that was asked during the Q&A’s was about language translation and how you can do business in another country when you don’t speak the language? We found this one a really good question as there isn’t a single answer to this. It really depends on your business model and how you choose to enter the target market. If you’re interested in this area you can also download our whitepaper on Going Global – which has lots of hints and tips on how to design and prepare for translation before you enter a new market. Download Here:
Another interesting question was around English. Perhaps a simpler approach for first time exporters is to just target countries that speak English only. Good idea.
What countries speak English as their primary language?
| Countries where English is the de facto language | Region |
| Australia | Australia |
| United Kingdom | Europe |
| United States | North America |
| Sovereign states | |
| Countries where English is a de jure/official language |
Region |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Caribbean |
| Barbados | Caribbean |
| Belize | Central America / Caribbean |
| Botswana | Africa |
| Cameroon | Africa |
| Canada | North America |
| Dominica | Caribbean |
| Eritrea | Africa |
| Ethiopia | Africa |
| Federated States of Micronesia | Oceania |
| Fiji | Oceania |
| Ghana | Africa |
| Grenada | Caribbean |
| Guyana | South America / Caribbean |
| India | Asia |
| Ireland | Europe |
| Jamaica | Caribbean |
| Kenya | Africa |
| Kingdom of the Netherlands | Caribbean (and Europe) |
| Kiribati | Oceania |
| Lesotho | Africa |
| Liberia | Africa |
| Malawi | Africa |
| Malta | Europe |
| Marshall Islands | Oceania |
| Mauritius | Africa / Indian Ocean |
| Namibia | Africa |
| Nauru | Oceania |
| New Zealand | Oceania |
| Nigeria | Africa |
| Pakistan | Asia |
| Palau | Oceania |
| Papua New Guinea | Oceania |
| Philippines | Asia |
| Rwanda | Africa |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Caribbean |
| Saint Lucia | Caribbean |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Caribbean |
| Samoa | Oceania |
| Seychelles | Africa / Indian Ocean |
| Sierra Leone | Africa |
| Singapore | Asia |
| Solomon Islands | Oceania |
| South Africa | Africa |
| South Sudan | Africa |
| Sudan | Africa |
| Swaziland | Africa |
| Tanzania | Africa |
| The Bahamas | Caribbean |
| The Gambia | Africa |
| Tonga | Oceania |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Caribbean |
| Tuvalu | Oceania |
| Uganda | Africa |
| Vanuatu | Oceania |
| Zambia | Africa |
| Zimbabwe | Africa |
