Recently JOBS
has successfully completed the IT Business Development Program,
designed to assist the Small and Medium Sized Exporters (SMEs)
working in the Software and Information Services sector in their
international business development effort.
This new program
was developed with the assistance of USAID/ANE Bureau and
conducted by a US based Venture Capitalist ( of Washington Technology Partners, Inc). The
following activities were undertaken in close collaboration with
Bangladesh Association of Software and IT Services (BASIS) to
achieve the objective of the program:
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Provide
updates of the US market by distributing a resource
for the ICT executives on how to do business
in the USA. The guidebook covers issues such as; preparing a
business plan; analysis of the private equity/venture capital
market in the USA and associated trends; analysis of current
market opportunities in the USA that are appropriate for
companies from the target country and preparing a market
penetration strategy. The guidebook is written with country
specific information so that it is appropriate for the
industries and business models that are most prevalent in the
target country.
-
Assess the
basic potential of the ICT companies to market their products
and services in the U.S market. It was done by distributing a
to ICT executives that request basic
information about their companies. The questionnaire requests
information regarding revenues, profitability, management
biographies, track record, major customers, product/service
information, and other relevant data. Additional coaching and
follow up interview by VC was scheduled for the top thirty
companies that was judged based on: strength of management team,
track record, technology capabilities, presentational style,
size, and applicability to the US market.
-
Conducted a
Two day workshop on “”.
The workshop provided training to more that 50 Software
companies on developing strategic relationships with US
companies.
-
Conduct
multiple private coaching/interview session with the senior
executives of approximately 35 ICT companies. Each session was
approximately one hour in duration. These sessions were designed
to provide direct feedback to senior executives on the strengths
and weaknesses of their specific companies in connection with
doing business in the United States.
-
Identified
eight companies that are best equipped to join in the US
Linkage Tour in Washington DC metropolitan area for business
development purposes.
-
Provide a
comprehensive coaching program for selected the delegates. The
coaching program includes assisting each company in drafting an
executive summary of corporate capabilities (1-2 Pages);
drafting a comprehensive marketing plan (15-30 Pages);
developing an “elevator pitch” for the US Market; preparing
sales/marketing collateral for the US market; implementing
internal quality customer support processes; and developing
effective presentation skills for the US market. This process
was highly interactive and required significant interface
between the VC and each company. Substantial effort was required
on the part of each delegate, as through research was conducted
and extensive drafting of documents was involved.
-
Assisted the
selected companies in the US Linkage Tour by identifying
appropriate corporate contacts for each delegate and arranging
meetings with senior executives of potential customers and
strategic partners. Two business networking receptions were
organized in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. One
reception was large (about 115 attendees) and one small (about
37 attendees). In addition, the delegate each had at least three
private meetings with senior executives for local technology
companies. These business contacts typically is senior
executives or CEOs of technology companies with over $ 10
Million in annual revenues in order to ensure that contacts are
credible.
-
The large
networking reception was held for the Bangladeshi delegation at
the Mclean Hilton hotel in Tysons Corner, Virginia (the heart of
the technology corridor in the DC metropolitan area) from 6:30
PM until 9:00 P.M on Tuesday,
February 24th. This event was coordinated with the
ICEO Council, which is the largest network of the East Coast of
the United States, featuring over 3000 executive members. The
ICEO has been described as “networking nirvana” by the
Washington Post and “the singular best networking organization
ever” by Governor Mark Warner. It has been regularly featured in
the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune and other publications.
-
The small
luncheon reception was hosted in Reston, Virginia on Thursday
February 26th from 12:00 PM until 2:00 PM for the delegates. This event featured a luncheon panel
discussion, after an hour of networking, on international
business for the ICT sector. Speakers from Accenture and Perot
Systems were selected to address this topic.
-
Each company
was provided with an opportunity to meet at least three senior
executives of local IT companies at their offices on a
personalized basis to explore potential business opportunities.
Some delegates had as many as five private meetings. Every
meeting was tailored to the specific business needs of each
delegate based on information obtained through the companies
marketing plan. In order to maximize the potential for business
development, the VC has send background information about the
delegates to the various local senior executives prior to the
meetings. A total of 28 companies agreed to have private
meetings with specific Bangladeshi delegates. The delegates were
provided with background information about each company with
which they were scheduled to meet when they arrived in the
United States so that they could properly prepare for the
meetings.
We believe the
participating companies got benefited from the IT Business
Development Program. Some of these benefits come from direct
business relationships that have been established through the
events and meetings in the United States. Other benefits come from
the rigorous preparation work that each delegate has undertaken
prior to the trip to United States. In order for this tour to be
truly successful, though, significant follow-up work must be
conducted by each delegate. Post-event follow-up is as important
as pre-event preparation. The VC will assist each delegate in
their follow-up process for some time in the future to ensure
long-term results.
We are
thankful to Abhishek Jain, USAID, BASIS, SETA Corporation and the
Bangladeshi ICT companies that participated in this program. |