Conquering the World

Any business owners who want a crack at expanding in the Middle East or Northern Africa should remember these rules: Have a partner, and don’t be pushy.

This was among several tips provided by one of Procter & Gamble Co.’s top global executives on the topic of penetrating this fast-growing region of the world. Robert Fregolle, global officer of P&G’s customer business development, described Middle East and North Africa, or MENA, as a region of great extremes but also of great opportunities—for those who know how to nurture them.

“This is a region where you have to invest for the long term,” Fregolle told hundreds of gatherers during a luncheon Thursday for the fourth annual international trade conference at Xavier University’s Cintas Center. ”It’s not a region where quick bucks are made.”

But if a business owner finds a good partner, learns the culture and laws, and enters the market with a product its consumers want and need, such prosperity could come. P&G has been selling in the MENA region for more than 50 years, and is experiencing above-average growth in the area (2.4 percent to 3.2 percent, Fregolle said). “There are a lot of people, a lot of babies being born,” he said.

There also are a lot of myths, such as that the region is underdeveloped (but counts more than 60 million Internet users), unsophisticated, and not beauty conscious. What is true of the region, he said, is the “incredible collision of old and new.” Old and new cities, infrastructures, and traditions. There is agriculture and oil, the very wealthy and the poor. To make it in MENA, he said, one must be agile.

After all, despite the differences, there are many commonalities. All consumers speak Arabic, and 90 percent are Muslim. And, despite perceptions, they do like Americans. Fregolle has been to 86 countries through P&G, and said he was never as warmly received as in the Middle East.

The world, and the region, have responded. More national retailers, such as Carrefour, are expanding throughout MENA, and more woman are entering the workforce (P&G was among the first to employ women).

Which leads to Fregolle’s “do” list, such as having a partner. It makes it easier to penetrate a vast market where there exist few major headquarters. Also, understand the cultural differences, and don’t be too aggressive. This isn’t the place.

The all-day event was attended by international economists and executives, including Amer Kayani, senior counselor for commercial affairs, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Topics of discussion during the day’s sessions included export finance, challenges and opportunities in the United Arab Emirates, and visas and immigration.

Small businesses short themselves of overseas opportunity, said Curt Cultice, senior communications specialist for the U.S. Commercial Service. Companies with less than 500 employees make up 97 percent of all U.S. exporters, but only about 30 percent of the value of exported goods. Further, 60 percent of those exporting companies sell only to one market.

Cultice said a lot of smaller businesses don’t consider exporting because they think it is too difficult and are not familiar with available government assistance. But technology has improved the possibilities, and the regional diversification can help companies sustain themselves during economic downturns, such as the current recession.

Fregolle closed his presentation with a video that featured a Middle Eastern man, who was poor, who became a “subdistributor.” He opened a small center in his living room, where he sold P&G products, and soon was making enough money to buy his family food and warm clothes.

“At the end of the day, it is about improving lives in more parts of the world,” he said, “so that they can prosper and build a better future.”

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Lisa Biank Fasig is a staff reporter for the Business Courier of Cincinnati.