grow

40 • entrepreneurmag.co.za November 2013

global expansion

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ConneCt www.uwiniwin.co.za • +27 (0)11 557 5700

When DaviD sanD, founder

of incentive solutions company

uwin iwin, started to expand his

business into Africa and india, he

knew he’d have to draw on some

of the entrepreneurial flair that

got him through the first phases

of start-up.

“the key driver for our

international expansion came

when clients asked us to follow

them into Africa and provide a

similar service. it’s been incredibly

exciting but also challenging.

We had to relearn some of our

early entrepreneurial skills, and

remember to be highly energetic

and resourceful in solving

problems,” he says.

today uwin iwin has a

footprint that extends from

southern Africa to West and east

Africa, india and brazil. these

international offices serve as key

outlets for lead generation and

operations, while leveraging

the company’s existing South

African infrastructure for

service provision into foreign

territories.

there have been a number

of key factors in getting a

global expansion right. here’s

what Sand has learnt, in his

own words:

1. people: the right people are key

and we made some of our earliest

mistakes when bringing in new

people from diverse cultures. it’s

great to be able to bring people

to South Africa to train them and

immerse them is our company

culture, but this is not always

possible in ramping up quickly.

We have been very impressed

with the skills and tenacity of

our teams in Africa, enjoying

the spirit of starting something

new and seeing the tremendous

opportunity this creates for

themselves.

2. technology and systems: For

our business it was critical that

our processes and technology

systems were in an easily

exportable format.

3. legal knowledge: We have

partnered with good legal counsel

and advisors who know the local

laws and landscape well. this is a

very important part of establishing

an offshore operation. EM

Geared for growthAn incentive solutions company draws on early entrepreneurial lessons to expand globally. By Juliet Pitman

“I was a frustrated young corporate

manager and didn’t see any real attention being

paid to inspirational ways to engage people to improve and deliver

business results. I knew how big the incentive services industries in the US and UK were. I took the opportunity offered by voluntary retrenchment to get

some start-up capital and was good to go.” – David Sand on founding Uwin Iwin.

Player:

David Sand

Company:

Uwin Iwin

Est: 1994

Vital stats In a nutshell

Uwin Iwin provides end-to-end incentive solutions for businesses that help them drive performance, loyalty and the delivery of business results among employees. Solutions include performance improvement incentives; reward and recognition programmes; communication campaigns; travel incentives; prize fulfilment; and conferences, meetings and events.