TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Go International through Digitalization: Takeaways from eFishery and HSBC Partnership
Change Size
T
he digital era brings opportunities for businesses to make inroads into other markets, even when they don’t have a physical presence overseas. E-commerce and financial technology (fintech) companies are prime examples of international expansion through digitalization, but in no way monopolize the benefits of the internet-based economy. A case in point is eFishery, an aquaculture company that centers its business around fish farmers across Indonesia.
In October 2023, a decade since its inception, the unicorn announced its expansion into India, Singapore and United States following a successful pilot project in the subcontinent. That illustrates the capabilities of digitalization, irrespective of their industries. Let’s take a look at some key takeaways from eFishery’s international journey.
Leveraging Technology
In its early days, eFishery focused on using technology to improve feed efficiency and lower overall costs of fish farmers. In turn, that would generate a greater profit margin, enable sustained growth, and allow them to scale up.
Ten years on, the company’s initial preposition for automated feeder devices continues to gain strong followings as its business scope widens. Beyond devices and IoT (internet of things) which powers them, eFishery creates a wholesome ecosystem by facilitating sales for fish and shrimp as well as connecting fish farmers with financing companies, enabling greater efficiency in production and market access, and chipping away funding barriers for smallholders.
The use of technology is apparent in eFishery’s international expansion plan. Working silently on international expansion, eFishery took into account the complexity of cross-border ventures. From establishing networks of associates and suppliers, international payment systems and having to deal with multiple currencies, compliance with different rules, and, most certainly, differences in time zones.
In full acknowledgment of those challenges, eFishery took the time to seek the right partners not only to address them but doing so while not having to establish a branch office overseas.
Right Partnerships
Companies targeting the global market, while not having physical representation in market countries, need the right partners who fully understand different regulations and cultures and use that tacit knowledge to formulate the optimum solutions.
The selected partners must also be capable of addressing the fundamental needs of cross-border business development and growth strategies, such as choices regarding timing, location, and methods used to ensure the success of business expansion.
On those fronts, HSBC’s strong presence in virtually every region across the globe is highly appealing for eFishery. From Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) to the Americas (North and Latin America) to Asia, HSBC understands the business landscape in each territory and country.
eFishery founder Gibran Huzaifah even went as far as to describe HSBC as “the compass” for his company’s international journey. HSBC ticks all the boxes for eFishery’s banking needs, while its understanding of various markets serves as a guidepost for eFishery’s targeted expansion.
Beyond those crucial factors, HSBC’s sustainability approach is in sync with eFishery’s aim to become a renowned green business. eFishery strives to increase the efficiency of fish feeds and aquaculture supply chain, resulting in water pollution reduction of up to 30% in 2021. On its part, HSBC’s sustainable finance framework seeks to promote green business practices, priming it to become eFishery’s sustainable finance coordinator.
HSBC Digital Strengths
Having more than a century of experience in handling customers in various countries, HSBC combines its international network with local insight into business practices in over 50 markets.
Moreover, the bank’s digital platform HSBCnet enhances those prowess into a simple, intuitive, secure, and reliable system. From the outset, HSBCnet was designed to be a robust and intuitive platform accessible through mobile or personal computers.
Its features are aimed at meeting complex cross-border banking needs, including cash management, supply chain financing, and international trade solutions. HSBCnet is also equipped with real-time tracking for payments, receipts, liquidity, and changes in corporate asset values.
The digital platform can be personalized, including language and time zone preferences, with intuitive and user-friendly navigation and support services available in local languages. HSBCnet can also be integrated with a company's treasury management system as well as its resource planning systems.
By partnering with HSBC, eFishery’s commercial operations in India mark just the beginning of a new chapter, and the first step to expand into 10 countries down the line. (ism)
