- 29/08/2023

Who is the key partner in your international growth?

Your bank! In particular, the network of experts at BNP Paribas Fortis' Trade Development department. The missing link between your foreign ambitions and your project's future success.

The idea of conquering foreign markets often raises new needs within companies. These requirements often go way beyond a bank's 'traditional' services... At BNP Paribas Fortis, we have understood that well, and it’s why we established the Trade Development department. This department advises clients and provides them with a full range of support when it comes to their international ambitions. "A bank can provide practical support for a company’s expansion plans abroad: it can open accounts, provide guarantees, underwrite cash flows, and much more," says Rob van Veen, Head of Trade Development at BNP Paribas Fortis. "But that's not all clients need: they also expect their bank to think about strategy and to help them approach the market in an intelligent and efficient way. And that's exactly what we do." What does that mean? The service provides unique and essential support – especially, in the context of the COVID-19 crisis – for expansion beyond our national borders, reassuring business owners and connecting them to a global network of local experts and providing long-term follow-up.

KNOWN TERRAIN... EVEN ABROAD

A good example of this successful partnership between a company with international ambitions and the bank is the Besins Healthcare group, founded in 1885 by Abel Besins, and which has been expanding globally since the 1980s with BNP Paribas Fortis' sustainable support. "When we have new plans to go abroad, we first discuss them with our contact person at BNP Paribas Fortis," says Leslie Grunfeld, CEO of Besins Healthcare, which is currently active in over a hundred different markets, and has local branches in several of them. "Our treasurer will check whether the bank is present in the country in question or whether it has partnership links with local institutions." This approach means that the group never goes blind into an adventure, as it has a similar range of services throughout the world. "That's great! Especially when you consider that the local problems you have to solve can vary greatly from one country to another." 

ACCESS TO A KNOWN AND RELIABLE NETWORK

One of the Trade Development team's biggest advantages is that it can provide companies with a real network of local specialists. Professionals to whom the target market holds no secrets. They know the reality of the country in question like the back of their hand and provide the company with support through all the local steps: from exploring business opportunities to bureaucratic formalities. 

"Even in countries where BNP Paribas Fortis doesn't have branches, we were able to benefit from the bank's network. This made the establishment of local branches particularly smooth. We didn't have to start from scratch every time we went abroad: we had immediate access to a structured network and reliable banking partners. And that means huge time savings," Besins Healthcare's CEO emphasises.

THE HUMAN FACTOR

Personal contacts with preferred partners are of great importance in an international growth project. Not only to have reliable and proactive contacts, but also to gain access to useful information and to unlock new local opportunities. These 'local' contacts are usually long-term partners of the bank... a guarantee of reliability to the exporting company that should not be underestimated. They are specialists with various skills and profiles – legal, business or administrative – who assist the company in question from start to finish. This includes assisting with the set-up of local establishments, starting up a new activity, recruiting staff (management, local contracts, etc.), setting up a new legal structure, seeking suitable suppliers and other partners (e.g. banks), responding to clients' needs (cash credit, leasing, fleet management, currency hedging, etc.) and offering them tailor-made solutions. And what happens when the company is 'launched'? Trade Development is on standby to continue the banking relationship and to closely monitor the client's evolution. For the long term!

TAILORED SOLUTIONS

A bank like BNP Paribas Fortis – through its Trade Development teams – is therefore a key partner for companies' international growth. And that goes way beyond simply offering financial services, as it also provides:

• exploration of new markets and partners for the company. In this capacity, it can work together to determine the strategy at source and open the range of possible relationships on the ground as widely as possible;
• risk mitigation: the bank analyses and assists in the preparation of a realistic profile for future partners (finances, real interest, reliability, reputation, etc.) and in reducing the margin of error; 
• creation of ready-to-use solutions. In this regard, the bank is always available to listen to the client, anticipate their expectations and offer solutions adapted to their specific situation;
• acceleration of the foreign process to establish themselves in a market or gain a foothold there, thanks to contacts with useful local knowledge and experience; 
• facilitation of the whole process, making its extensive network available to rapidly put the company in question in contact with local partners, but also to manage or advance all kinds of situations; 
• long-term support – Trade Development's experts closely monitor the company's international journey, on-site or remotely, and oversee the project's success.