Benin is a country in West Africa with a population of around 10 million – and although it’s neighbours with Nigeria it has nowhere the same trade links or business opportunities.
Porto Novo is the capital of Benin but most of the country’s trade is done via the bustling port of Cotonou where cargo includes cocoa, rice and cotton, which is the lifeblood of the economy.
There is also a growing trade in used vehicles from Europe and the US – imports have grown from 200,000 in 2010 to 314,000 in 2014.
On average, 25,000 cars pass through Cotonou every month – up to 90% of which end up in Nigeria – but it’s something of a murky market and in 2013 there was a diplomatic disagreement between the two countries when Nigerian customs officials directly accused the Beninese government of smuggling vehicles into Nigeria.
Screenshot Google Maps
So if you’re thinking of dabbling in the Beninese second-hand car market, approach it with caution.
And as Benin is something of an unknown quantity, it may be worth setting up an international conference call with potential business partners to get the lay of the land before you commit.
The third largest economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – a regional intergovernmental organization comprising ten Southeast Asian countries that promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and socio-cultural integration among its members – Thailand is home to over 50,000 British residents, and the export of UK goods is worth around £1.96 billion a year. Service exports from the UK are worth around £708 million annually.
Top exports from the UK to Thailand include:
iron and steel
road vehicles
electrical machinery
power generating machinery and equipment
medicinal and pharmaceutical
If you think the Thai market could be good for your business, here’s everything you need to know about exporting to Thailand.
Switzerland is a diverse and mature economy, and offers a great opportunity for UK-based businesses – bilateral trade between the two countries is worth £31.9 billion, and Switzerland is the UK’s tenth largest export market, with goods and services exports having grown by 130% in the last five years.
If this sounds like a good opportunity for your business, here’s everything you need to know about exporting to Switzerland.
Spain is home to about 47 million people, around one million of which are British nationals, making it on of the biggest consumer markets in the EU, and a great opportunity for any British businesses looking to widen their net.
The country also has a growing economy, with householders experiencing an increased household disposable income after recent tax reform and record employment growth. This healthy outlook has led to the return of foreign investment – if you want to be part of it, here’s everything you need to know about exporting to Spain.
Social media has been around for the best part of 40 years – Usenet appeared in 1979 and is the first recorded network that enabled users to post news to newsgroups.
Although these Usenets and similar bulletin boards heralded the launch of the first, albeit very rudimentary, social networks, social media never really took off until almost 30 years later, following the roll out of Facebook in 2006.
So, what exactly is the state of social media in 2018?
Positioned in the middle of the European mainland and flanked by Croatia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, and the Adriatic Sea, Slovenia is the ideal gateway to doing business in south eastern European markets. Not one of Europe’s biggest markets, it is developing economically, and has about 20 British businesses operating from there, including Astrazeneca, Castrol, Shell and Unilever.
If you want to tap into this emerging market, and take advantage of its central location, here’s all you need to know about exporting to Slovenia.
Situated right in the middle of mainland Europe, Slovakia has enormous growth potential and can offer a great Central and European base for any business.
There are more than 100 UK owned companies operating in Slovakia, including include BAE Systems, GlaxoSmithKline, Provident Financial, Shell, and Tate and Lyle. And Tesco not only Slovakia’s top retailer, it is one of the country’s main employers.
If you want to join this growing list, here’s everything you need to know about exporting to Slovakia.
Although Russia only ever seems to be in the news for all the wrong reasons – from allegations of meddling in elections to poisoning ex-spies – but there are very strong trade links between the UK and Russia – with goods and service exports worth around £7.6 billion to the UK.
The Top UK exports include:
Engineering products
Pharmaceuticals
Chemicals
Consumer goods
Education
Even so, the UK’s share of the Russian import market is behind France, Germany and Italy, so if you want to help boost the UK’s profile over there, here’s everything you need to know about exporting to Russia.
Drones will be weaponised, industrial-scale hacking will be commonplace, and videos will be manipulated to swing public opinion – a vision of a future in which artificial intelligence (AI) has fallen into the hands of rogue states, criminals and terrorists, according to the findings of a new report.
We’ve been trying to tell everyone this for ages – it’s been three years since we warned the world that Google is going to kill us all!
Europe’s most westerly country, Portugal is has ties to its former, Portuguese-speaking colonies such as Angola, Brazil and Mozambique, opening up a market in excess of 250 million people. It also has strong links with the UK, not only as a popular tourist destination, but as home to around 80,000 ex-pats.
The UK is currently the fourth largest investor in Portugal, and its sixth largest supplier, with services worth €1.3 billion, and goods exports totaling €1.8 billion, most of which were accounted for by:
Automotive
Life sciences
Information economy
Services exports were in travel, transport and other business services.
Here’s everything you need to know about exporting to Portugal.
