South African expertise sought internationally

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Kate Mederer, principal owner at Restless Brands – specialists in innovative marketing that build, reinvent and recharge brands – notes that the current exchange rate, coupled with the reputation of South Africans for being hardworking, are amongst some of the factors driving the increased uptake of local skills by international organisations.

“Smaller international businesses are particularly keen to utilise the services of South Africans, since they often lack the budgets available to their bigger competitors and can benefit from both the exchange rate of the rand relative to their currencies and the quality of local talent,” says Mederer. International clients that approached her were small-medium enterprises, which due to their size and small budgets, opted for South African service providers, rather than those in their own countries.

“Added to this, South Africa offers a skilled talent pool. With local jobs scarce in certain professions, teaming up with international companies that recognise this gap in the market, offers a viable solution for both.

“The preference for South African professionals is augmented by the fact that they are customer focused, have a natural ability to create rapport and have been raised within a service culture. For instance, I have fantastic suppliers who all work to the same value system, as my organisation and are happy to go the extra mile because the work is fun, engaging and challenges us to think beyond what we have before.

“I believe that South Africans are hungry for work, excited about working outside of our country’s borders and able to add value to global brands who have faith in our capabilities, expertise, service and delivery,” concludes Mederer.

For more information, go to www.restlessbrands.co.za.