Knowledge of South African Business Culture is the Key to Success

The South African economy is the second best in the whole of Africa, consequently making it one of the best places in the region for foreign investors to start working on their ideas. 

The business culture in South Africa is unlike European and American nations whereby the exchanges matter; It's all that much like the Asian business culture as it is driven all the more by connections and less by money matters. 

So while considering to start a small business in South Africa, do note the relationship driven methods for doing business.

With a relationship driven business culture you mean to build strong relationship instead of expanding the deals with old school sales methods. 

Choose a business model that is all that much needed in the South African economy, do check this list of best small business ideas for South Africa. And, setup your business on a multi-step purchasing procedure and the more extended deals cycle. 

Related Reading: Hire Locals When Doing Business in South Africa

Dubai Free Zone Licenses & Their Specifications

We have been discussing doing business in the UAE and particularly the free zones and I have already discussed the benefits that Dubai free zones offer.

Well, where there are so many benefits, there come hell lot of regulations and so the key to success is to chose the business model wisely. You may find this list of best small business ideas for UAE useful in your research.

Apart from choosing the right idea, you have to get the right licence too and my this post is specifically about Dubai free zone licences and their specifications. Here it goes.


Companies approved for operation in , are granted one of the following types of licences: Trading; Industrial; Service; or National Industrial. These licences are renewable annually for as long as the company holds a valid lease from either of the Free Zones.

• Trading licences are granted to companies holding a valid licence issued by the Dubai Economic Development Department or an equivalent authority in the UAE, and to companies incorporated outside the UAE. 
• Industrial licences are issued to companies incorporated outside the UAE and to Free Zone Establishments to incorporate industrial and manufacturing activities. Specific industries may need further licencing from relevant authorities.
• Service licences are only granted to companies holding a valid UAE licence for specific services.
• National Industrial licences are issued to industrial companies registered within or outside the UAE, provided they meet the conditions of having at least 51% AGCC equity and their local production accounting for at least 40% value added. Such companies must obtain provisional approval from the UAE Ministry of Finance and Industry. 

If a company wishes to practise more than one of the above mentioned activities, it must obtain a separate licence for each category of activity.