Gaining a foothold in a foreign country is no easy task, and some good advice alone will not suffice. Trade Development at BNP Paribas Fortis is the perfect partner to turn theory into practice!

Many companies want to try their luck outside our borders and gain a foothold in new markets. This is necessary not only to be able to continue to grow, but also to remain competitive. But if you don't know where to start, it's hard to put your money where your mouth is. How do you find the right market? How do you find prospects? How do you prepare the whole operation in all its aspects? What risks do you need to cover? And which partner can you trust? All important questions that can make or break your project. And this is how international ambitions are sometimes left on ice.... 

"We want to help companies achieve their international ambitions", says Rob van Veen, Head of Trade Development at BNP Paribas Fortis.

"We look at the local market into which the company wants to launch and make sure the underlying potential is sufficient." And so, the first step towards success is taken.

WHEN GOOD ADVICE IS NOT ENOUGH...

There's a deep gap between theory and practice that managers do not always dare to cross. It's essential to collect a lot of data and information, but this is certainly not enough. Talk must then be followed by action.  Your growth project's first stone must be laid... preferably with the greatest possible chance of success and as few risks as possible. In such an adventure, (good) guidance is not a superfluous luxury. Even more reason to call on the support of Trade Development: a partner who can assist you with a wide range of solutions and help you establish a long-term strategic vision. In Belgium and beyond. 

"In their project's first phase, companies often find a lot of information and support from the Belgian export promotion agencies", says Rob van Veen.  "But they don't get all the practical answers they need to roll out their activities in a given country."

CHOOSE WISELY!

Given that growth prospects in Belgium are rather limited, companies must therefore look for international growth. But where? This is where the Trade Development team comes in. Your choice of target market is certainly crucial. A vague, poorly thought-out decision can have dramatic consequences: examples of failure abound – partly because companies don't understand the local 'culture'. Companies sometimes gravitate towards exotic markets because others have gone before them. But every international project is unique: does the market fit into your overall strategy? Are you aware of all the challenges that lie ahead (regulatory, commercial, etc.)? 

"Let's take the example of a company that wants to set up in Brazil. Our first question is then: what activities have you already been carrying on in Europe? Might there be new, undiscovered opportunities there? For example, it's much easier for a company to set up in Poland than in Brazil, where taxes on imports are extremely high" , continues Rob van Veen.

HIGHLY NECESSARY 'LOCAL' CONTACT PERSONS 

Your project has taken shape and you've determined your target market. The time has then come for Trade Development to roll out one of its greatest assets: access to a global network of competent and reliable partners.

"We introduce the client to local specialists who can support their project abroad from start to finish. One deals with the roll-out of activities, another specialises in legal and tax issues, and a third takes care of the administrative side of things. We prefer to work with small, local agencies, most of whom are long-term BNPPF network partners", says Rob van Veen.

These contact persons have a perfect knowledge of the national rules and customs and know how to adhere to that specific framework. The company therefore has the great advantage that it can benefit from such a skilled team: a win-win situation. "In addition, our permanent contact persons are evaluated by the client after each project. This way, we can guarantee the quality of our services!" 

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS: Save TIME AND gain EFFICIENCY

Are you looking for an effective distributor or a reliable representative? An ideal on-site supplier? Do you want to determine these contacts' actual potential or get to know possible new partners? Not easy for a company… 

"Most of them are looking for a white knight. Our trade developers draw up realistic selection criteria in consultation with the client. They carry out a financial analysis of the commercial partners and check their technical baggage and their reputation", explains Rob van Veen.

First, a list of four or five serious and interested candidates is drawn up, and then the contact phase follows. "Our local contact introduces the candidates to the Belgian company to ensure that both parties are interested in a partnership. Once all these issues are clarified, the relationships can be rapidly explored in depth." 

SUCCESS IN THE FIELD

Every target market has its problems and risks: from the language to cultural and commercial differences. Very specific problems that are often difficult to solve from Belgium, especially in the post-COVID-19 era. Hence the importance of being surrounded by specialists who know the country like the back of their hand. Need an example? "To be able to supply retailers in the UK, you often need to be able to invoice at a local level", explains Rob van Veen. "Our trade developer can then act and take care of the local invoicing and accounting on the company's behalf at a fixed and transparent rate for each transaction. This is a simple initial structure that does not require major investments but is very interesting professionally." The client can naturally then seek its own local partner. "That too is a task they can leave to our contact person, who has the necessary experience to do so." Need another example? Russia, where everything takes a huge amount of time... Trade Development's network of experts can also speed things up considerably here and solve problems more quickly. 

 

Thanks to its low-pollution solutions and the arrival of new investors, the Mons-based company has every intention of continuing to grow. Discover more about this inspiring success story.

Eradicate the environmental and health problems associated with medical waste on a global scale: Ecosteryl's ambitions match the technical expertise of this Mons-based company. Founded in 1947, its core business was equipment and machinery for the mining industry.  Around twenty years ago, it completely reinvented itself by specialising in the treatment of (potentially) infectious waste from the healthcare sector.

A global player with high-profile clients

Today, Ecosteryl is a globally recognised player in its sector, exporting 100% of its production to more than 65 countries. Its customers? Hospitals, of course, but also organisations in the waste recycling sector and international institutions such as the World Health Organisation, the World Bank and the United Nations, as well as cities and states. The company employs around forty people and has an annual turnover of over €20 million.

Medical waste, a critical public health issue

Syringes, dressings, masks, sharp instruments... 15% of medical waste is considered hazardous and therefore requires special treatment. Given that a single hospital bed produces between 0.5 and 3 kg of this waste every day, it's easy to imagine the scale of the problem. The infectious, toxic and sometimes even radioactive risks associated with hazardous medical waste are far from minimal: among other things, it can trigger or accelerate a pandemic, and even give rise to new diseases. Decontamination and recycling of this waste, the only solution to eliminate this health risk, is therefore a global public health issue.

An environmentally responsible process

Direct incineration or autoclaving: these are the two methods used by Ecosteryl's competitors to decontaminate hazardous medical waste. The problem is that these processes are far from being environmentally neutral. Incineration causes significant CO2 emissions and harmful emissions, such as dioxins, and is also energy intensive. And autoclaving requires large amounts of water and energy, again with significant environmental consequences.

It is in this area of the environmental footprint that Ecosteryl has made a difference, thanks to a technological breakthrough developed in collaboration with the University of Paris. The decontamination and recycling process uses microwave and dry heat technology to disinfect hazardous waste. The decontaminated waste is then shredded to reduce its volume, after which it can be processed in the same way as non-hazardous waste. Or better still, it can sorted and recycled.

This process requires very little electricity to operate, and its environmental performance compared to incineration and autoclaving is incomparable in terms of emissions and water consumption.

Too much plastic in medical waste: recycling instead of prevention

Single-use plastic products, equipment and utensils are a fact of life in hospitals. In many cases, this single use is justified, for example for syringes. The problem arises when this waste is directly incinerated. But thanks to pre-treatment, decontaminated and dried waste can be given a second life.

Until now, there has been no machine for this final stage. Ecosteryl's latest development, R-Steryl, fills this gap. It is a unique sorting centre. Placed after the decontamination machines, it can sort decontaminated waste and recycle up to 80% of it. The major players in waste collection and treatment know that recycling is and will be a real challenge in the coming years. Ecosteryl is also positioning itself as a key player in this field, and is investing in a number of analyses to this end.

Private equity to accelerate development

Despite its size in the medical waste decontamination sector, Ecosteryl has no intention of slowing down. The company intends to continue and accelerate its international growth, and welcomes new investors: BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity,  Wallonie Entreprendre and IMBC, an investment company focused on the Mons, Borinage and Centre regions. Philippe Dufrasne, Chairman of Ecosteryl, comments:  “With these new shareholders, we have found the right partners to help us stay ahead of the game and achieve our long-term goals, particularly in terms of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) performance.”

A priority to invest in the transition of companies

BNP Paribas Fortis is also enthusiastic about this new project.

“We are particularly proud to support this company, which has developed a unique expertise in the production of cutting-edge equipment specialised in the environmental field. Over the years, Ecosteryl has succeeded in expanding worldwide in a niche market at the intersection of environmental and health issues. This investment is fully in line with our ambition to invest €1 billion in venture capital by 2025, focusing on funds and companies that respect environmental, social and governance criteria,” explains Raf Moons, Head of Private Equity at BNP Paribas Fortis. 

The Princess Elisabeth Island, is the world's first artificial energy island for transporting offshore wind power to land. A combination of innovation, technology and biodiversity conservation.

8,802 km: that's the length of all the onshore and offshore power lines and cables managed by Elia Transmission in Belgium.  As the operator of the Belgian high-voltage grid, Elia keeps the lights on by matching electricity generation and consumption at all times.

Artificial energy island

Grid operator Elia has just started to work on one of the most challenging projects in its history: the Princess Elisabeth artificial energy island. It will be located in the middle of the 285km² Princess Elisabeth wind zone. This is the second offshore wind zone in the Belgian North Sea that has yet to be fully built. With a capacity of 3.5 gigawatts, the new wind farms will produce electricity equivalent to the annual consumption of 3.5 million households.

Catherine Vandenborre, CFO of Elia: “The Princess Elisabeth Island is a vital link in the successful energy transition in Belgium. The island has a dual function. First, it will bring electricity from the new offshore wind farms to the mainland. And then from 2030, the island will also be connected to wind farms in other countries with which electricity can be exchanged. This will give our country access to cheap and renewable energy.  This is crucial for our energy-intensive industries, which are rapidly moving away from fossil fuels and switching massively to wind energy over the next 10 years. In this way, Belgium is contributing to Europe’s climate goals and the ambition to realise 300 gigawatts of offshore wind in the North Sea by 2050.”

Designing for nature

In terms of location, design and implementation, due attention is being paid to limiting unwanted impacts on the marine environment. “We are going one step further and opting for nature-inclusive design,” explains Catherine Vandenborre. “In consultation with experts, we are taking concrete steps to protect the biodiversity around the island. For example, we are adding ledges to the outer storm walls where the kittiwake – a vulnerable bird species – can rest and breed. Below the waterline, several measures will be combined to create a diverse and rich artificial reef, with a particular focus on the return of the European flat oyster.  The measures have been selected on the basis of their technical feasibility and expected positive outcome.”

Co-creation and innovation

Achieving such a nature-inclusive design required close collaboration and knowledge sharing between all stakeholders and different domain experts. “An instructive process for all involved,” confirms Vandenborre. “With this initiative, Elia wants to set the tone for the environmentally friendly realisation of future offshore infrastructure. Europe’s seas are becoming the power stations of the future. By integrating biodiversity conservation measures from the design and construction phases, we want to increase and accelerate the positive outcomes. The co-creation project with the experts has already made an important contribution to scientific development in this field. But the work is not finished. Monitoring programmes will be put in place to follow up, and if necessary, adjust the selected measures.

Ready for the next gust of wind

As one of the main financial partners, BNP Paribas Fortis is supporting Elia’s transition to a reliable, affordable and environmentally friendly energy system. BNP Paribas Fortis has already financed 8 offshore wind projects in the Belgian North Sea. These 8 farms together represent 2200 megawatts, equivalent to 2 to 3 nuclear power plants. The next round? New wind farms in the Princess Elisabeth zone. This will be done through project financing, with the underlying contracts and resulting cash flows backing the loans.

How does Ziegler aim for greater environmental responsibility? By methodically exploring various avenues. Their approach is based on four key pillars.

The Brussels-based scale-up Optimy brings together corporate volunteering, donations, patronage and sponsorship activities all on one platform. On it, their impact on society is concretely measurable.

"Originally, I didn't think of myself as a social entrepreneur, even though I was involved in sponsorship. At the request of our customers, my partners and I have developed an entire provision of services that has become the most comprehensive platform on the market," says Kenneth Bérard, CEO of Optimy.

One of these customers was the BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation, which wanted to make a greater social difference and also give these actions more visibility. "It's a must for companies to contribute to society. This generates added value for the company and fuels a positive spiral. But that social impact has to be measurable. How many children have been helped? How many trees have been planted? What effect does this have on employee satisfaction, image and turnover? Our model offers all of this. This means that companies don't have to purchase new modules every time they want to add additional activities. I think that’s our great success factor. We are the market leader in Europe in our sector and the only company operating in both Europe and North America."

Personal support

"Many companies are full of good intentions. They want to have a positive impact on society, but they often lack a good method to do this efficiently," the entrepreneur notes. "They tend to see all their efforts in isolation. The Optimy platform offers a solution for this. It's easy to put together and it's service-oriented. We adapt to the processes of each business unit and company. It doesn't work the other way around," assures Bérard. "Our customers are not looking for technology; they're looking for guidance. We invest in personalisation, and it's paying off, as a customer satisfaction survey shows."

Structuring actions

The first piece of advice that Optimy always gives companies is: don't shred your efforts, they should form a whole. "We recommend that companies structure their actions using our tool. The corporate social responsibility policy must be in line with the company’s values, DNA and broader strategy. And of course, the actions must be transparent and well executed."

The right partner

From the beginning, the connection Optimy had with BNP Paribas Fortis was decisive for the company’s growth. "The fact that the bank follows us has increased our credibility with our partners, investors, customers and also internally. Now it's setting up a factoring service for us to further support our growth."

Optimy's growth was initially supported by cash flow, which is unusual for a technology company. Financing came into play beginning in 2019. That's when a Canadian fund specialising in software as a service (SaaS) companies and affiliated with the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) became a shareholder.

Multicultural enrichment

As with increasingly more companies, one of Optimy’s biggest challenges is recruiting new talent. “We've been able to convert that challenge into an asset,” concludes Bérard. "We attract talent from abroad. Sixty people from twenty nationalities work in our Brussels branch. This multiculturalism is a huge enrichment and has helped us break through internationally."

“The corporate social responsibility policy must be in line with your company’s values, DNA and broader strategy”.