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Export opportunity for Coast businesses
Sunshine Coast businesses considering selling their products overseas can determine their export readiness through a University of the Sunshine Coast research project.
The Export Management project, run by USC International Business students, has helped numerous local businesses become exporters in recent years.
This semester, the students are being guided by Associate Lecturer Rob O’Donovan who has extensive experience with the Australian Government’s trade promotion agency, Austrade.
Mr O’Donovan has actively promoted the interests of Australian businesses throughout the world, particularly in the Middle East, Asia and North America.
“I bring a different perspective to the course, a very practical one, on how to devise an export development program,” he said.
Mr O’Donovan said the Export Management project gave International Business students the chance to undertake practical, export-specific research after assessing the operations and export intentions of businesses.
It also would provide local companies with detailed, relevant information that could be useful when evaluating their firm’s readiness to export and assess the various strategies available.
Mr O’Donovan said there were 40,000 exporters in Australia, with most of them small firms and many of them from regional centres like the Sunshine Coast.
“Size and location are no impediment to getting into export,” he said. “Two-thirds of all Australian exporters export less than $100,000 and nearly half less than $10,000 annually. Nearly half export only two or three times a year.
“The impediments are more likely just the management time necessary to get started, and that is where working with Export Management students can kick-start Sunshine Coast firms into doing business in international markets.”
Businesses interested in being part of the project can contact Rob O’Donovan, on 0422 222 221 or email <rodonova@usc.edu.au>.