Research of Business Partners about Direct Exports Stage in Sub-Saharan Africa by Japanese Companies

Case of Expanding Business Abroad to West Africa such as Mainly Nigeria

Abstract

As the domestic market shrinks due to the declining birthrate and aging population, it will become even more important for Japanese companies to consider expansion strategies into Sub-Saharan Africa, where the population is expected to grow over the long term. In this paper, we conducted semi-structured interviews with Japanese firms exporting directly to West Africa, particularly Nigeria. The results of the analysis showed the common features of the Japanese firms interviewed in this study are the selection of partners with a proven track record of local sales and the active employment of local employees who are familiar with the local information. These two points were suggested as potentially important and indispensable for direct exports to Sub-Saharan Africa, where the risk of expansion is high.