The Managing Director of Rustenburg-based Prelec Mining Supplies, Mr Reuben Matlapeng says South African companies harbouring ambitions of securing business in overseas markets should consider forming co-operatives that share a common business plan to enable them to have a competitive edge and help them secure funding from government funding institutions.

Matlapeng was participating in a business-to-business session that was facilitated by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) at the inaugural Cameroon Investment Forum, in Yaounde. The session formed part of the dti‘s Outward Trade and Investment mission to Gabon and Cameroon organised with the aim increasing and strengthening South Africa’s trade and investment relations with the two countries. Twenty-three businesspeople participated in the mission

“I have identified plenty of opportunities in the infrastructure sector where I see Prelec adding value. My observation in Cameroon and Gabon is that both countries rely on the private sector for service provision and they depend on European companies. This indicates that they are not aware that South Africa can be of value-adding in terms of logistics, skills development and technology,” said Matlapeng.

He added that some of the sectors he identified opportunities in ranged from infrastructure, agriculture, environmental, mineral mining, and hydropower.

“My other notable observation is that most successful investors plying their trade here are European-based. My opinion is that South African companies like these forming part of this delegation can form a co-operative with a common business-plan. This will surely give us a competitive edge over big multi-nationals. It will also help us secure funding from government and funding institutions,” added Matlapeng.

Matlapeng also said that he has had good interactions with Cameroonian and Gabonese counterparts and has derived valuable leads that would require immediate follow-up to pursue collaborations.

“It is extremely challenging to approach these markets because governments here depend on the private sector which has more capital. For us to make sure we become competitive we need to focus on forming co-operatives,” said Matlapeng.

Issued by The Department of Trade and Industry