Yesterday 3 April, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the Southeast Asia Market Day, bringing together entrepreneurs, international experts and diplomats. The event shared experiences and advice, and presented strategies for entering various markets in Southeast Asia.
The event was opened by the Foreign Ministry’s Undersecretary for Economic and Development Affairs Mariin Ratnik who highlighted the opportunities of the Southeast Asia region. “I’m glad to see that so many Estonian companies are eager to explore new opportunities in one of the most dynamic and rapidly growing regions of the world. Southeast Asia is a region of remarkable economic vitality, home to over 680 million people and some of the world’s fastest-growing economies,” Ratnik said.
She said the region was characterised by a young and tech-savvy population and a growing middle class. “This region is embracing digital transformation at an unprecedented pace, creating demand for cutting-edge solutions in fintech, cybersecurity, e-governance, and smart infrastructure – areas where Estonia has a great potential,” Ratnik said.
Estonian Ambassador to Singapore Priit Turk and economic diplomat Kristel Alver encouraged Estonian companies to contact the embassy. “Singapore’s business sector is quite familiar with Estonia, our unicorns and our e-state solutions. Regardless of the sector, people are always looking for world-class innovation and technologies,” the ambassador said.
Risto Mäeots, CEO of aircraft maintenance company Magnetic MRO that operates on several Asian markets, also encouraged companies to look to Southeast Asia. “You don’t have to wait until you’ve grown in Europe and only then look to Asia; our sector shows that it could actually be easier to expand there,” Mäeots said.
He added that being present and getting a sense of local conditions was crucial. “From our perspective, all countries are large enough so it is important to have a sense of things on the ground and believe in the possibilities of a specific market,” Mäeots said, emphasising the importance of the local team.
Choosing your partners and not giving away exclusive rights to the first bidder is also vital. “I recommend testing potential partners with your lowest-risk products or services and watching what they can do,” he said.
A panel of companies was moderated by Florian Marcus, Cybernetica’s Head of Sales and Partnerships, and panellists included Carlo Lustrissimi, CEO of 5.0 Robotics; Barbara Kärtner, Senior Customer Success Manager at NEXD, and Gloria Hallaste, Export Marketing Specialist at Liviko.
Sarath Menon, Founder and Managing Director of the international consultancy Orissa International, gave a thorough insight into the peculiarities of different markets and noted that the panel discussion for Estonian companies alone showed there were opportunities for very different sectors. He emphasised that interpersonal relations underpinned everything and to create them, you needed to be prepared to invest your time.
In the second half of the day, sector-specific workshops were held, and briefings on local culture and customs were offered by Pham Thi Thanh Binh, Ambassador of Vietnam to Estonia; Kosin Phonmang, Chargé d’Affaires of Thailand to Estonia; Mohamed Ariff Bin Mohamed Ali, Chargé d’Affaires of Malaysia to Estonia, and Niranjana K Doraraj, Trade Manager at Orissa International.
Export strategies for companies looking to enter Southeast Asian markets were also launched at the event and they are available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: https://vm.ee/en/activity/business-diplomacy/export-strategies
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/estonian-foreign-ministry/albums/72177720324859287/with/54429815164
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