When growing your business into overseas markets, it is important to get the translation of your materials and messaging right. This is even more evident when there are large dollars at stake or sensitive negotiations to take place.

Here is our guide to getting it right when expanding into export markets.

1. Use the local language of your target market

Does your target market speak UK, USA or Australian English? South American, or European Spanish? North African or Gulf Arabic? Also consider whether you need to use English for non-English mother-tongue readers. Be specific when forming your messaging and put yourself in the shoes of your target market. The more that you can relate to your audience with language that resonates with them, the more this will help your efforts to expand into the new market.

2. Adjust to suit the culture

Cultural differences are important and failure to understand them for your market can bear serious consequences. Campaigns may need to be pulled, and last minute redesign and reprinting are not only costly but can be stressful. To avoid this, make sure that images and text are culturally appropriate first, before the translation process occurs.

Colours are another important consideration in cross cultural contexts. For example, blue is a popular colour associated with the ocean and nature. But in Iran, blue is the colour of mourning, and in many countries it is associated with authority and discipline. In many parts of the world Green is a positive colour, associated with good health and life. In China, green is thought to repel evil, and in the Muslim faith it is linked to spirituality, religion and God.

It may seem obvious, but check that your product names do not sound offensive in another language or another culture. You may recall that Mitsubishi had to rename their “Pajero” model for the Spanish and Latin American markets, or Ford their “Mist” car for the German market.

Body parts also play different roles in cultures. A movie poster with a man sitting on top of a Buddha statue caused problems in Thailand, where the head is the most sacred part of your body for people of Buddhist faith.

3. Business cards open doors

Often, thousands of dollars are spent to have websites and materials right, but the design and preparation of international business cards are left to the local copy shop. The right business cards are a powerful means of communication to make a good first impression in your international market.

The title is one of the most significant considerations for an international business, as this will define organisational level. Businesses and organisations want to assign people of the same level to do business with you. In Japan, a business card is of paramount importance; the handing out and receiving is done in a ritualistic format.

The names of the person and the company must be transliterated as a guide to pronunciation, and middle initials are often eliminated for simplicity.

Some countries do not adapt English-like spelling in names for reasons of readability. For example in Czechoslovakia, people expect women’s names to end with “–ova”, and as a result, Sharon Stone is known as “Sharon Stoneová”, and Nicole Kidman as “Nicole Kidmanová”.

Numbers should be arranged in the country’s format. European have phone numbers often running together, whereas in Australia, we separate the area code and then group 4 digits together. Each country will have their own nuances that should be adhered to.

4. Measure your success

When expanding into new markets with a new product or service, we highly recommend to put key performance indicators in place to check how many new customers you have acquired and the results of your investment in translation activities.

Check your export figures to see the financial outcomes gained from your translation activities. Also check the leads or number of inquiries from the overseas market compared to those from within Australia.

By keeping a close eye on these figures, you can clearly calculate the profit generated per translation project to determine their effectiveness and which markets merit further investment.

It is also recommended to build a trusted relationship with an accredited individual or language service provider who gets to know your service offerings, messaging, language and your markets. They will give efficiency and consistency to your communications and be able to offer ongoing guidance on your expansion into new markets.

Accredited and professional T/I’s (Translators/Interpreters) are experts at communication and will be able to let you know any technical obstacles to translation, any confusion that could occur and the rationale for certain actions.

Days of you carrying a luggage full of brochures at tradeshows, waiting in the darkness for the safe arrival of shipping vessels and spending $200 on faxes and $120 on courier for export documents a day, are gone.

Instead, having a teleconference on Skype with suppliers in a remote area while locating your shipping vessel on MarineTraffic and checking Alipay for incoming payment is becoming normality for more and more international traders today.

A transparent world and a shorter value chain

Nowadays, free information is only a click away. Middlemen who used to make a fortune by having access to information and overseas contacts find it extremely hard to operate a business the old way. Wholesalers can easily find manufacturers through search engines, online directories (such as World Directory of Importers Associations) and online marketplaces (such as Alibaba); importers and exporters can search and compare global tradeshows at www.tsnn.com.  Hence the traditional value chain consisting of manufacturers, exporters, importers, distributors, sub-distributors /wholesalers and retailers is being replaced by shorter ones.

The implication for importers and exporters is to reposition themselves and add value to the value chain through

• tailored international trade facilitation services
• development of own brands
• possession of special technology knowhow/intellectual property
• strong expertise in a niche market/focused product category
• strong financing capabilities
• backward or forward integration to shorten the value chain and lift profit margin

More E-traders and more B2C trades

Technology enables international traders to conduct trade via internet. Exporters have started cutting off importers and distributors and built their own online stores to target end customers. They may have their own shopping websites in the target country’s language or have online stores on the target country’s online B2C marketplaces. For example, if you target Chinese end customers, you may consider having a Chinese online store on Taobao or Tmall. The practical procedures are still complex as it may involve third parties to manage the online store and marketing in the target country, but it provides a new avenue for exporters to interact with end customers and improve their bottom line by cutting off middlemen.

Some online export models exporters adopt are as follows:

• An online Brand Store with its own domain name managed by the exporter or its distributor or a third party in the target country
• An online store on a target country’s B2C marketplace managed by the exporter’s own office or its distributor/agent or an online store management company in the target country
• Order function on the distributor’s website in the target country
• Order function on the exporter’s own multi-lingual website

Virtual office and virtual organisation structure

Micro-multinational is a recent term referring to small or micro businesses which operate globally by leveraging the capabilities and expertise of upstream and/or downstream partners at various markets overseas. For example, a one-man-band business in Sydney may work as a consolidator of its own brand, and outsource all or part of research and development (R&D), manufacturing, sales and marketing and after-sale services to third parties overseas. In one case, a R&D academy in California is the business’ R&D department, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in inland China works as the business’ production base and its licensing partners overseas are the sales arm of the business. The business does not even have a physical office but rents a virtual office at minimal cost to have a shared receptionist manning the phone nine to five. Although a micro-business is defined by the number of employees it has, the business still has an organisation chart and even generates sufficient revenue to match sizable businesses. Technology enables the micro-multinational business to run on iPhone and iPad and communicate with all its “departments” overseas when the business owner is travelling globally.

In the 21^st Century, Importers and exporters cannot be judged by the size of their office and the number of employees anymore.

Continuous learning and adaptability - a key to success

Global economic landscape in the 21^st century is being reshaped and boosted by knowledge and technology. A key to success for importers and exporters in this century is the ability to learn and adapt to new technology and new models to cope with the ever changing challenges, and seize fast moving opportunities. To catch up with the global industry and technology trend, and be more proactive, importers and exporters may consider taking the following actions:

• Subscribing to industry association and government’s E-newsletters
• Getting involved in social media and check competitors and industry activities via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and search engines
• Regularly up-skilling through attending training programs and business events
• Allocating 15- 20 minutes a day to go through the titles and key contents in the business sections of major newspapers

Importers and exporters need to accept the fact that change is the norm of international trade today, and there is only one option- learn, adapt and succeed.

The Premier of Victoria Ted Baillieu will lead the next Super Trade Mission to India from 11 – 15 March 2013. The Trade Mission will start in Mumbai before moving on to Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune and Kolkata.

The mission follows on from the first Super Trade Mission to India in February 2012. The Victorian Government anticipates over $355 million of additional sales to be generated over the two years since the February 2012 mission.

The Premier has also led the Super Trade Mission to China in September 2012 and is now planning to lead more than 170 companies to the Middle East from 23 February – 1 March 2013.

More than 150 Victorian organisations from the automotive, aviation and aerospace, biotech, cleantech, education, food and beverage, ICT, infrastructure and tourism sector are encouraged by the Victorian Government to participate.

In December 2011, Premier Baillieu recognised the importance of trade missions. He explained that, “trade missions provide Victorian companies with great opportunities to connect with their overseas counterparts and grow new markets for our high-quality goods and services”.

According to Export Victoria, the initiative provides a platform for existing exporters to build on, and new markets will consequently open up for first time participants. Mission participants will be introduced to potential qualified customers, business partners and investors, and have the opportunity to showcase their organisational expertise and capabilities in many sectors needed to support India’s future growth.

India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies. It is Australia’s fourth largest goods export market in 2011, with total goods exports valued at $15.3 billion and services exports worth $2.1 billion. In 2011, Victorian goods exports to India were worth $401 million.

The Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement (MAFTA) officially came into force on 1 January 2013. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) believes MAFTA will open up new opportunities, provide greater flexibility and improve access to the Malaysian market for Australian businesses, investors and suppliers.

Australia’s Minister for Trade and Competitiveness and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Asian Century Policy, Craig Emerson, and Malaysia’s Minister for International Trade and Industry, Mustapa Mohamed, signed MAFTA in Kuala Lumpur on 22 May 2012.

Malaysia is currently Australia’s third largest trading partner in ASEAN and overall its 10^th largest trading partner. In 2011-12, the goods and services trade between the two countries was worth $17.2 billion.

Emerson said this agreement would further integrate the Australian economy into Asia’s fast growing region.

“This high-quality agreement reduces trade barriers, increases transparency and provides greater business certainty, making it easier for Australians to do business in Malaysia,” he said.

From the 1^st of January, 97.6 percent of Australian goods currently exported to Malaysia are eligible for tariff-free treatment. By 2017, this is expected to rise to 99 percent.

According to DFAT, the removal of tariff barriers to trade will boost the competitiveness of Australian businesses in Malaysia. Likewise, Australian consumers and businesses will also be expecting lower costs of Malaysian products entering Australia.

The further benefits of MAFTA as listed in DFAT’s brochure include increases in foreign equity limits for specified services in the education, financial services, telecommunications and professional services industries; increases in the number of Australian managers and specialists allowed to work in Malaysia; and that it enables Australian workers and their families to attain Malaysian visas more easily.

For more information, visit the DFAT website.

The improving spending power of China’s 1.4 billion population makes it a prime target for companies around the world who are looking at expansion. While the potential for company growth in China is very high – making bringing your operations there very attractive – such a move requires (among other things) a considered strategy to protect your intellectual property rights in that jurisdiction.

China has a reputation, whether rightly or wrongly for being a haven for counterfeit product. That’s not to say that the government isn’t taking steps to review its intellectual property enforcement laws. But when compared to many other countries, China’s IP laws are relatively new and have only had a much shorter period of time to develop. While good progress has been made in progressing China’s ability to deal with infringers, it may naturally take some time before China catches up in terms of having a robust IP protection regime. This does not mean that applying for IP protection in China is a toothless tiger. China currently has registration-based protective regimes for trade marks, patentable technologies and copyright (something that is missing from Australia’s IP protection landscape). Intellectual property rights can also be protected through the thoughtful application of China’s trade secret and unfair competition laws. Indeed, China does provide significant benefits for those who seek to use its various registration systems to protect their IP assets in China.

Unlike Australia, China’s trade mark registration system works on what we call the “first to file” rule system. Australia (like many other countries) is based on a “first to use” system – this means superior brand rights are afforded to businesses that can show they commercially used the brand first in the marketplace for their particular good or service offering. Just because another business might file a trade mark application first, does not mean the “first user” cannot obtain its own registration or be prevented from continuing to use its brand.

China’s “first to file” system is essentially a first in best dressed approach. First filed trade marks generally have superior recognition under Chinese trade mark, notwithstanding that another business may have used the trade mark first. Such a system requires quick action, lest a rival company registers your brand name first as their own before you do. Even though you may have been operating in China for some time beforehand, you may have to be prepared for a lengthy legal battle to retain your rights to use that brand in that country.

Some handy things to remember about trade mark registration in China (and other IP rights registration) is set out below:

• Unless you have a residential address or business address in China, filings must be conducted through registered and qualified agents or attorneys (Actuate IP has a network of such associates in China which it co-ordinates with to file applications for its clients)
• Filings will need to be translated into Chinese – these translation costs should be taken into account when considering registered protection in China
• If you are looking to register a trade mark in China, remember to also have searches conducted on the translation and transliteration of your trade mark.  Sometimes the direct translation may be protected, but the phoenetic transliteration may unintentionally miss out on protection
• Also, be aware when choosing a trade mark to file in China, that there are several dialects of Chinese which are spoken in that country (most commonly, Mandarin and Cantonese).  The sounds of words in one dialect can differ significantly from another and may lead to unintended consequences for your brand
• Always seek to register your IP rights before entering the market in China to maximise your potential for avoiding legal issues
• While copyright registration is not compulsory, foreign investors are still encouraged to register with China’s National Copyright Administration in order to establish evidence of ownership. This also grants the owner of the copyright the ascendancy should legal actions be necessary.

IP Protection in China is still a progressing concept but one which China is rapidly developing in line with other countries with more established intellectual property legal frameworks. Nevertheless, China remains one of the most sought-after markets in the world, and if a company is to be globally competitive, it makes good business sense to carefully inspect Chinese intellectual property laws when preparing to enter and operate within that market.

Dynamic Export asked Brendan Brown how he came to start the business and why there’s such a market for English language editing in today’s business environment.

How did the idea for the business come about?
My roots are humbling as far as start up businesses go. I have always loved the English language, and I’ve got a background in writing, but the idea of a professional editing company occurred to me only recently. I was working ingloriously in a warehouse and you could say I was in a quarter life crisis. I decided to earn some extra money and stimulate my mind by editing student theses. All I had was a do-it-yourself WordPress website and a couple of badly designed flyers, but the demand was there. It took off pretty quickly and before too long I founded two professional editing companies that evolved to service business clients as well. The Expert Editor is an Australian based company and Global English Editing is focused worldwide. I now have multilingual websites and I’m expanding into the Chinese market.

Who are your current clients? What types of businesses?
My initial clients were all ESL students. I quickly realised that English is the language of globalisation, and millions of people around the world are struggling to write content in English. My current business clients include small-medium enterprises in China, Europe and Australia who all need help writing clear English content for their websites, marketing material, press releases and so forth. The aim is for these businesses to sound as fluent as native-English ones. We still help students with their theses and dissertations, and they come from around the world.

Do you assist Australian exporters heading into China and Chinese businesses coming into Australia?
We work one way, helping Chinese businesses express themselves effectively in English for a global audience. We’ve just begun the expansion, but we’re already fielding calls from Chinese businesses, big and small, that want to improve their English language communication. We chose China as the first area for expansion because of its sheer size. 300 million Chinese people speak English, to some degree, which is equivalent to the entire population of the United States. They need help in producing quality English documents, whether business or academic.

How are you planning to publicise the business in China?
Our strategy, in collaboration with our Chinese-American partner company, is to advertise on Baidu, which is the equivalent of Google in China. Baidu is a search engine with 80 percent penetration of the Chinese market, so it’s massive. You can’t have an online marketing campaign in China without Baidu. Unfortunately, although Baidu is almost as big as Google, its not nearly as user-friendly and it has taken us a month of negotiation and paperwork to get an ad campaign up and running. Of course Baidu is a Chinese language search engine, so we have created a Chinese language website.

Why is China in need of English editors?
With 300 million English speakers, China is a massive market for English editing. Businesses across China want their websites, marketing material and business communication to be in English, and some need considerable help in doing so. I think the globalisation of English puts Australia in a prime position to help non-native English speakers communicate more effectively. Editing may be a relatively niche area in English-speaking countries, perhaps limited to a university thesis or a business press release, but in China it’s an essential part of the process of communicating in English. China is clearly an internationally competitive country, but its English language skills are not.

Are you planning on expanding to any other world markets?
Not at this stage. We’ll take a wait and see approach to see how successful we are in China. But the business model is highly transferrable to other countries. English is the closest language we have to a world language, and is used by students, businesses, scientists, professionals and entertainers the world over. I think the demand for English language specialists to edit material for non-native English speakers will grow considerably in the coming years.

However, numerous rural businesses feel as though they are not able to reach a global audience due to their size, their target audience or their geographical positioning. This is simply not the case; many rural businesses, despite their size, can potentially enter into the export market, compete at a high level and reach new global target markets.

All rural businesses operating in Australia know their target markets inside and out (hopefully!) and have a clear understanding of their needs and wants. They understand the costs, what marketing tools (both on and off line) they need to use to reach these audiences and they understand how to achieve their business objectives using these tools and strategies.

The Australian rural market is a familiar place for all rural businesses; however the tactics and strategies that work for this market don’t necessarily work once a rural business expands their export business globally. In this case a new international marketing plan is needed.

Here are a few things a business should take into consideration when creating their international marketing plan.

Why export business?
Firstly, it’s important to determine why the business is entering into the export market. A business should always have clear objectives and goals when entering into any new market. Ask why the business is undertaking this challenge? What will success look like? And what is to be gained from this expansion?

These questions help to establish the growth direction of a business and influence the marketing strategy.

Use Market Research:
Market research is critical to the success of a business’ expansion and online marketing campaign. Without this step a business is essentially entering blind into a new market, with no clear understanding of who they are talking to, what this new market is looking for, and what new competitors they will be facing.

Market research reveals the niches and gaps in a market that new businesses can slip into. This research also reveals the political, legal and regulatory, financial, cultural, competitive, consumer and marketing challenges that a rural business may face. It determines whether or not a business should enter a particular market, and what they should do once they are there.

For example, if an online rural export business were to look into entering a market where there were restrictions on social media and online marketing tools, market research would help a business to either create a solution around how they will market their business online through other channels or will determine this market as not suitable for them.

Is the business ready for expansion?
The next step for this business plan is to look into the business and really determine if it is the right fit for the chosen market. Will the business really be able to deliver a solution for the needs and wants of the target consumers?

The best way to determine whether a business is ready of expansion into a particular market is to ask these questions:

• What products and/or services does the business offer – do these products or services suit the new market?
• What is the point of difference or what is unique about it?
• Do a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) of the business. How will the business’ SWOT affect the expansion into this market?
• How does the product or service offered compare to the products or services offered by foreign competition – is there a key point of difference?
• How does the website compare to competitor websites?
• Is the business’ website ready for foreign customers? Will there need to be different pages for different languages?
• Is the business’ social media strategy ready to incorporate an international strategy? How will the business target those consumers unable to access the same social media sites?

Plan out your time and money
Investing in a global market can cost substantially more than investing in a local market. It’s all about researching how much money will be needed in order to successfully expand. Know how much is too much but also understand the business will need to prepare for higher expenses.

Planning and creating an international online marketing plan will help a business transition smoothly into an international market. Don’t plan to go in blind and “wing it” from the start – invest as much time as necessary and then a bit more. A business that spends time preparing and planning will always end up in a better position.

Fallout from the ongoing financial problems in Europe and the US has amplified longer-term evolutionary pressures exerted by the increasing complexity of supply chains, leading to a new trade geography, and new winners and losers.

Asian manufacturers are coming under unaccustomed pressure from the knock-on effects of the slowdown in developed markets, particularly Europe. In September, the World Trade Organisation cut its 2012 trade growth forecast from 3.7 percent to 2.5 percent and, although they predicted growth would bounce back to 4.5 percent next year, they warned that there are still significant downside risks.

Against this backdrop, Asia’s manufacturers are looking for greater efficiency in their supply chain management, and financial services can be both a potential source of savings itself and a promoter of cost benefits elsewhere in the chain.

For consumers, trade finance costs are falling. Lower global interest rates are playing their part, but the biggest driver has been increased competition. Although European banks have been pulling out of trade finance in Asia, the void has been more than filled by hungry regional and local banks keen to open up new business lines.

But the combination of increased competition and slowing trade growth has led to lower margins within the finance sector, and some of the newer entrants are struggling in an environment where businesses are demanding a more comprehensive service from their finance suppliers.

The new local and regional players may have made the trade finance pool wider, but they are entering the fray just as clients are looking for more depth. Manufacturers intent on eliminating financial friction in the supply chain are increasingly looking to banks that can provide a streamlined service across a broad range of geographies and products.

The key is connectivity. Supply chains today are exponentially more complex than they were even five years ago. The components that go into an iPhone come from many different countries: there are banks supplying trade finance that might be able to cover two or three of those but very few can supply all of them.

Even something as simple as an Australian machinery manufacturer that exports products globally might involve a process where other parts of the manufacturing supply chain are conducted in Thailand and other parts imported from Europe.

When exports were growing strongly, Asian businesses could afford to allow some slack in their supply chains, but as trading conditions have become tougher, they are becoming increasingly aware of the advantages of being able to exert influence both up and down the chain.

The search for increased efficiency has prompted a re-examination of the supply process from first principles. Manufacturers are becoming increasingly “vertically aware” as they examine all aspects of the chain in order to understand where costs are accruing.

They are clearing up their balance sheets; shifting inventory holding up or down the chain; cutting out unnecessary steps in logistics handling; and negotiating contracts between tier three and tier two suppliers.

And they are looking at maximising the efficiency of their finance models. We are seeing a clear trend, especially among our biggest Asian customers, towards extending and modifying off-the-shelf products to create coherent full-service packages that combine traditional trade and foreign exchange products with new solutions to manage risks and maximize opportunities in the extended supply chain.

Asia’s biggest manufacturers are no longer satisfied to be merely a link in a long value-added supply chain. As the global trade environment has deteriorated, they are increasingly taking control of the process, searching for cost efficiencies both up and down the chain, and presenting new challenges and opportunities for trade finance banks.

Where patents protect the underlying functional concept of an invention, registered designs protect the visual appearance of a product. Registered designs may be particularly valuable to protect SMEs against infringers taking products that have a unique appearance, but no new functional features that can be protected by way of a patent.

Registrability Requirements

The Australian Designs Act governs the registration of designs and provides that designs can be registered in respect of the overall appearance of a product resulting from one or more visual features, i.e., the shape, configuration, pattern and/or ornamentation of a product. To be registrable a design must be novel worldwide and also distinctive compared with existing designs. To be novel a design must not be identical to another prior design whereas a design is distinctive if it is not substantially similar in overall impression to another prior design.

Registration

Upon lodgement of a design application at IP Australia, the application undergoes a formalities examination. The formalities examination serves to assess, among other formal matters, whether all necessary information has been provided and whether all required documents have been submitted. Also, the representations are examined as to their reproducibility by photocopying. Upon passing the formalities examination, the design is registered and a Certificate of Registration issued.

Examination

It is important to point out that a design is registered without it having undergone any substantive examination, i.e., an examination as to the novelty and distinctiveness of the design. The Designs Act provides that the proprietor of registered design may only enforce its design rights against third parties once a registered design has passed substantive examination and a Certificate of Examination issued. Examination may be requested at any time by either the registered proprietor or any third party.

Upon receiving a request to exam a registered design, IP Australia will conduct a search to locate any existing designs which are prejudicial to the newness and distinctiveness of the registered design. Should IP Australia locate documents which in its opinion are prejudicial to the newness and distinctiveness of the design registration an Examiner’s Report will issue. The proprietor will then have six months within which to overcome the Examiner’s objections, failing which the design will be revoked.

From a cost point of view it is beneficial that a design is registered without the additional costs associated with substantive examination. It is thus possible to obtain a design registration number which can be applied to products embodying the design as well as in all marketing material relating to products embodying the registered design at relative low cost. Should the design not proof to be commercially successful or infringed by third parties the registered proprietor may decide not to incur the cost of substantive examination. On the other hand, if products embodying the design proof to be commercially successful, the proprietor can request examination at that stage to ensure that the design registration is certified so that the proprietor is in a position to take immediate action upon becoming aware of an alleged infringer.

Duration

Registered designs have a term of 10 years. To maintain the design registration for the full 10 year terms a renewal fee payment is due on the fifth anniversary from filing.

Infringement

A design registration will be infringed by any third party which makes, imports, sells, offers to sell, hire or use for trade a product embodying a registered design without the permission of the registered proprietor. The test for establishing infringement comprises a visual comparison of the alleged infringing product with the representations on file at the Designs Office for the design registration. It is then assessed whether the alleged infringing product is identical or substantially similar in overall impression to the registered design.

The remedies that can be granted by court against an infringing party include an injunction restraining the infringing conduct, damages or an account of profits.

Summary

Registered design protection can be obtained relatively quickly and at relative low cost. As such registered design rights can potentially be a very effective means for deterring copying of products. SMEs are well advised to explore the possibility of securing design rights for the appearance of any new products that are developed.

André Meyer is an associate at Spruson & Ferguson Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys.

According to Trade and Competitiveness Minister Craig Emerson, fast-growing nations of West Africa offer a number of business opportunities to Australian exploration, mining and mining services companies.

“Australian mining services companies recognise the opportunities of Africa, but this mission provides them with actual exposure to the mines and broader market conditions,” he said.

“This is in keeping with the refocusing in Austrade on emerging and frontier markets, where Australian companies often have more difficulty with market access and intelligence,” he added.

Emerson said those companies taking part in the mission will have the opportunity to meet mine managers and see for themselves the potential for their goods and services.

Austrade and Austmine, which represents Australia’s mining equipment, technology and services industries, worked together to organise the 10-day business mission.

Delegates will visit mines in Ghana and Burkina Faso and briefed on the mining sector and other aspects of commercial life in West Africa.

West Africa is currently experiencing a period of stability and prosperity, in recognition of this and seeing the potential for Aussie businesses, the Government is expanding its presence there.

Austrade plans to open a post in Accra, Ghana and the Government announced in May it would open an embassy in Dakar, Senegal.

Australian companies have about 90 resource projects in West Africa and about US$50 billion actual or committed investment in Africa.

Ghana is Africa’s second-largest gold producer after South Africa and has more than 10 operating gold mines while Burkina Faso’s six operating gold mines make it Africa’s fourth-largest producer of gold.