David White and Akhona Mahlati - Registered In The UK
David White and Akhona Mahlati - Registered In The UK



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David White and Akhona Mahlati - Registered In The UK

2018-11-26

DRG Outsourcing and BusinessFit have been accepted as Platinum members of the London-based South African Chamber of Commerce UK (SACC) and to be represented on the South African arm of its executive committee.

BusinessFit has been successfully registered as a business entity in the United Kingdom (UK) as BusinessFit International Ltd. BusinessFit was introduced to the SACC by Mike Miller, its founding president with roots in South Africa. Mike is also the founder of SAPRO (South African Products) an importer of South African products for distribution through his previously founded and owned South African shop chain.

In recognition of BusinessFit’s emerging business endeavours, we were invited to attend the SACC Annual Awards event and to present awards to two up and coming member enterprises.

This event also provided the opportunity to display painted fabric items produced by emerging artists located in rural KwaZulu-Natal (Magic Moments Trust) and to elicit orders, which are now distributed by SAPRO.

Such activity inspired the idea of BusinessFit International (BFI) as a service provider focused upon UK based enterprises entering the South African market and vice-versa. As such, DRG, BusinessFit and BFI services are the cornerstone of the new SACC Business Hub offering services to SACC members, where relevant.

This service is being promoted in the UK and beyond to SACC members and potential members. 

How does it work?
A Business Assessment Questionnaire (BAQ) has been developed as the BFI project backbone and features five stages, namely:
  • Stage One: An initial topline review of the UK or South African company that wishes to enter the other country, to establish whether they are likely to succeed in the target country. If a successful outcome is anticipated, the client’s company is then invited to participate in stage two of the process.
  • Stage Two: A series of key questions about each functional area within the client’s business to give a clear overview of the business.
  • Stage Three: More detailed questions are solicited in each function about the business to achieve an better allinclusive understanding.
  • Stage Four: Research carried out by the BFI team based on the information revealed from the findings in stages two and three.
  • Stage Five: A recommendation is provided to the client in the form of a formal presentation.
More detail on the content of the questionnaire is provided below:

Business Assessment
Questionnaire content


Stage One deals with the nature of your business, products and track record to date. This includes your motivation for entering the UK or South African market, based upon your current understanding of the environment.

This is a free initial assessment.

Stage Two represents the start of the formal fee bearing assessment process and covers topics such as:
  • Legal aspects e.g. registered name, ownership and control, number of employees
  • Results to date e.g. turnover, growth in volume and value, route to market, market share
  • Financial status e.g. profitability, cashflow, balance sheet
  • Marketing e.g. product range, pricing strategy, distribution strategy, research available, promotion strategy
  • Operations e.g. manufacturing capabilities, warehousing, supply chain
  • Human Resources e.g.
Human Capital best-practices in place in support of enterprise sustainability

Stage Three introduces indepth questions to better inform the Business Research Team in the designated target market

Stage Four mobilises the respective research teams in the UK and/or South Africa to discover opportunities prior to making recommendations on the most likely success route in the form of a comprehensive report leading to…

Stage Five: Delivery of the report with a presentation on findings and recommendations Implementation: BFI team members will facilitate the implementation according to their respective fields of expertise and business networks.

This programme will enable the relevant BFI entity to assess companies in the UK wishing to enter South Africa or South African companies wishing to enter the UK plus recommendations in each case on the optimum way to achieve their aims.

The Business Assessment Questionnaire (BAQ) is available online via www.baq.co.za and all enquiries will be referred to BFI and the SACC Business Hub.

Genius Methods software will coordinate the business assessment process, providing interested parties with confidential user names and passwords for access to relevant reports.

The business assessment process is also available to businesses in other countries who would like help in entering the United Kingdom or South African markets.

Significance of this SACC Service
The UK perspective:
With the advent of BREXIT, the UK will be looking afresh at diversifying its markets and Commonwealth countries would represent an obvious starting point. South Africa, with its strong historical connection with Britain, is bound to become reprioritised in this regard.

President Ramaphosa’s current drive to woo investors into South Africa is well timed to take advantage of such development.

In a recent letter to Mike Miller, Theresa May, British Prime Minister, expressed her strong support for the SACC and BFI initiative.

The South African perspective:
The BREXIT process will free the UK from the onerous constraints that EU regulations placed upon goods sourced from non-EU members, for example, agricultural products.

Whilst the ultimate outcome of the BREXIT process remains unclear it is a case of the ‘early bird catching the worm’.

The South African economy will benefit from sustainable businesses which will create employment opportunities to alleviate the growing unemployment rate, especially amongst the educated youth.

In conclusion:
Now is the time! Participate in our BusinessFit Business Assessment Questionnaire via the link via www.baq.co.za which will help you in applying your mind to expanding your market horizons.

Then, allow BusinessFit International to assess your business’ readiness by participating in the business assessment process.




David White and Akhona Mahlati - Registered In The UK

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