It`s really hard to get away from them South Africans. During the course of last week, I heard of the plan to export the Mother party experience to this island, and then - what a bonus - managed to stumble across a branch of Nando`s; one of 20-odd peppered around Greater London.
It came as a bit of a surprise that one of SA`s most successful exports should choose not to display its `Proudly South African` signs on every available surface.
Basheera Khan, UK correspondent, ITWeb
It was a terrific meal; due in some part to the quality of the food, but more especially because of the sentimentality attached to the experience. The only detractor was the notable absence of any indication as to the origin of Nando`s. It came as a bit of a surprise that one of SA`s most successful exports should choose not to display its `Proudly South African` signs on every available surface.
It`s no real surprise that South African businesses have become so readily exportable to the UK, especially when it comes to customer service (something the Brits haven`t quite got their heads around) and the capacity to work both hard and smart.
It`s the kind of `maak `n plan` approach that provides South African businesses with the edge that can help them carve their own niche almost everywhere in the world - with the possible exception of the US, simply because of the nightmarish fragmentation that market seems to relish.
Inferiority complex
Dimension Data`s recent landing of a multimillion-dollar HSBC contract is a prime example of just how much of a threat the South African IT industry in particular poses to competitors in the UK, Europe, and even the Far East.
But it`s not just the ASTs, DiDatas, and Prisms of the country making an impact abroad. There are a number of SA IT businesses spreading their wings; the i-junction, Digital Gear, i-touch and Estrin Software are a few of those making in-roads into the UK IT industry. These are just some of the companies behind extremely successful projects in the SA IT industry who need tweak products and business models only slightly to make them work overseas.
There was a time when South Africans believed themselves incapable of taking overseas markets by storm. It`s the kind of inferiority complex that develops as a result of ignorance of one`s abilities, and from believing what would-be discouragers have to say.
As far as understanding the symbiotic relationship that must exist between business and technology for success, South African operations has definitely evolved to the point where one can realistically expect a degree of success in international markets never before imagined - as Nando`s can demonstrably confirm. Now, if only they would `fess up to their roots.
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