Access to Third Markets: India – Opportunity for Czech SMEs

In the World, there are not so many markets growing as quickly as the Indian one. Despite a small economic downturn, India still represents many trade opportunities for Czech companies, especially from energy sector, water management and transport.

This year, about 130 Indian companies have participated in the International Engineering Fair in Brno (CZ). On this occasion, CEBRE organized a seminar for Czech companies wishing to enter Indian market. “Should the companies be successful in entering third markets, they must have a thorough analysis of the local market to minimize all potential risks of the failure”, stressed Věra Venclíková, Director of Entrepreneurs Platform for Foreign Development Cooperation. “Beside the national support structure, Czech exporters can also use the help of the European Business and Technology Centre in Delhi (EBTC)”, informed Jiří Hansl, Director of Foreign Affairs Department of the Czech Chamber of Commerce. EBTC helps European companies accessing the Indian market while focusing on biotechnologies, power engineering, transport/logistics and environmental technologies.

The Centre helps to arrange meetings with Indian public bodies, Indian companies and other stakeholders. “The advantage of Czech companies is also a good name of their machinery products”, informed Ivan Kameník, Director of CzechTrade Office in Mumbai. “The problems to deal with when entering Indian market are: heavy administration, corruption and different culture. To overcome these barriers, companies need a lot of patience!”, he concluded.