ABOUT US
Afri-Trade (Pty) Ltd. is a specialised business and legal consultancy focussed on FMCG trade relationships between Europe and Southern Africa.
Our mission is to promote and develop trade and investment aimed at creating sustainable business, increasing revenue and reducing costs for our clients.
Afri-Trade drives business by offering highly individualised business and legal services for private and public sector clients who have a particular interest in retail, HoReCa, agro-processing, and manufacturing industries.
OUR SERVICES
Our delivery model is focussed on the ability to provide our clients with advice and implementation that is tailored to their situation and delivers the expected outcome within an agreed timeframe and budget.
In doing so, we believe that an open, personal and trustworthy approach to business is key to enable the opportunities ahead.
Clients choose us, (client testimonials and case studies) because our entire efforts are geared towards maintaining their interests in a new business context. Our services span over three categories
Typical business consulting services are:
- Market Research & Analysis, assessment of market volume, potential and growth rates, customer structure, potential distribution and sales channels, price margins;
- Competitive Intelligence Analysis, identification of competition structures, market shares, performance capacities, cost structures, distribution policies;
- Industry Research & Study Development, preparation of economic, social and environmental impact assessments, drafting and assessing of industry development strategies and feasibility studies;
- Stakeholder Identification & Engagement, risk assessment and mitigation, consultation and consensus building, community development strategies, relationship management;
- Market discovery & Sourcing missions, preparation and organisation of business missions, identification, evaluation and selection of potential suppliers or sales channels, introduction to decision makers, facilitation of business meetings.
Our legal advisory team identifies laws and regulations that impact our clients in their market of choice and help them to navigate and develop robust internal structures and processes. Typical regulatory services are,
- Policy Analysis & Assessment, monitoring the preparation and implementation of policy documents, reviews of the coherence between policies and sectors, preparation of guidance on policy implementation, such as Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BB-BEE) in South Africa;
- Regulatory Assessment & Compliance, legal analysis of International, regional and national laws, review of regulatory and institutional frameworks, evaluation of the practical implementation and provision of technical assistance
- Cross Border aspects of trade, tariffs and import duties or tariffs, rules of origin, sensitive products, and non-tariff barriers with a focus on the Southern African Customs Union, and the Tripartite FTA (SADC, EAC and COMESA);
- Advising on international trade laws and regulation, the World Trade Organisation, African Regional Trade Agreements, Free Trade Agreements, and the European Union;
- Commercial Law, contract negotiations, IP and Trademark registration, as well as drafting and providing general commercial and competition law advice.
Typical market access services are:
- Human Resources & Sales, identification, screening and selecting of local top performers to fulfil key positions in the organisation;
- Positioning & Business Plan, development of a positioning and market entry strategy, definition of business model according to clients’ core competencies;
- Incorporation & Licensing, company registration, Tax and Customs registration, product licensing with relevant authorities, identification of suitable office sites, negotiation of rental contracts, office equipment and IT infrastructure;
- Trade Show Representation, identification of suitable trade shows, negotiation of exhibition rates, design and set up of stalls, as well as staffing;
- PR & Marketing, identification of and engagement with suitable media channels to facilitate coverage, development of a coherent marketing strategy using the right mix of channels according to product, audience and market.
Typical growth and acceleration services are:
- Due Diligence, assistance with risk and opportunities analysis for partnerships, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory, financial, operational, market, environmental, and social due diligence;
- Investment assistance, identification of private investors, government subsidy, or industry development programmes, assistance with legal and commercial implications of third party involvement;
- Product Development, identification of suitable ideas, concept development and prototyping, obtaining first market feedback and product refinement, business case and market strategy development, beta testing and proof of concept, commercialisation and market launch;
- Corporate Social Investment, identification and implementation of environmental, community or social projects suitable for marketing activities at a corporate level.
Who we are
Armin Roggendorf
Armin is a Strategy & Business Development professional with deep knowledge across the Consumer Goods, Manufacturing and Marketing industries. He brings 12+ years of experience in helping companies achieve success through thoughtful business & market intelligence, systems & process improvement, and marketing & communication through cross-functional and global teams. Armin is skilled at interpreting business & legal issues to create pragmatic solutions that add value to the company.
Armin is an active member of various leading professional networks and think-tanks. He holds a Business and Law degree from the University of Cologne RFH, an MBA from the UCT Graduate School of Business/SDA Bocconi School of Management, and an LL.M from the University of the Western Cape/Humboldt University of Berlin.
Partner & Producer Network
Afri-Trade is set up as a lean organisation, a multidisciplinary network of professionals, especially management consultants, business lawyers, economists, analysts, risk and transaction advisers, marketeers, advertising and design executives, and sales specialists. We combine our skills and expertise to support our clients in their market of choice. According to the individual specifications and project requirements, we propose a team structure to our clients, when required.
Next to servicing established brands, Afri-Trade actively supports small to medium sized producers of natural, organic and/or fair traded products from Southern Africa to obtain market access in Europe. Our producer network offers a variety of products, from fresh to processed foods, as well as Natural Ingredients, such as Rooibos, essential oils, and herbs.
BUSINESS NETWORK & AFFILIATIONS
Afri Trade was appointed as Consultant and Representative in South Africa to maintain our FMCG clients’ interests in the region. Afri-Trade’s country expertise has allowed our organization to better understand the relevant conditions across South Africa. Through their structured research and solid professional network across industry and government, they helped us to identify market-ready companies with attractive products to benefit from market access services to the UK and EU. Further, Afri-Trade helped our clients to sustain and generate new income streams through opening up new sales channels. Afri-Trade is respected by our colleagues, clients, stakeholders and management, and we can highly recommend working with Afri-Trade.
