Top 7 Strategies For Making Money In The Third World

1. Identify your target country and research it. India, for example, is totally different from Brazil or Kenya.
   
   
2. Secure the services of a good, local company to get things moving for you. In many of these countries, it's hard to find a working phone, let alone a list of prospects. Your local contact will make things a lot easier.
   
   
3. Make sure your product really is saleable in your chosen market. Many products, from paper to airplanes are made more cheaply in the Third World than in the West so check out the local competition.
   
   
4. If you're importing from a developing country, check supply. Repeat : check supply. Planning is weak in some of these countries and just when you've worked to establish a market in the US for Kenyan beer, you might find the factory in Nairobi runs out of bottle-tops for three months and you're left with no product.
   
   
5. Getting funds into developing countries is easy. Taking profits out is often hampered by tough foreign-exchange laws. Check it out.
   
   
6. Meet the politicians and assess the political stability of the country ... and know who's next in line for President if there's a coup next month.
   
   
7. Have fun. There's a lot of money waiting to be made in the more unusual countries, but travelling there can also be a great deal of fun and, even if your venture doesn't come off, your safari will be worth it.

Geoff Hill is a Zimbabwean writer and broadcaster and is president of Something of Value, a consultancy firm that specialises in African business and political issues. He has worked in Australia, the USA and England before returning home to Zimbabwe last year. Email: