With small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs and start-ups all faced with a major challenge of maximizing opportunities to penetrate into the African market due to the coming into place of Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Regus Global flexible workspace platform seeks to offer the most efficient, cost-effective strategy for such businesses to explore.
Unlike multinational companies with presence and offices in different countries, usually SMEs operate from a single small office location, garage and even in some instances no specific location. Making it difficult to enter into partnerships and collaborate with other industry players or expand into other markets as trust and security of investment cannot be assured.
To assist these businesses and SMEs to own a world class office space and have office address, administrative staff, professional consultants and get access to a whole global network, Regus Ghana has opened its fourth business center at the Airport Residential Area, Atlantic Towers to give businesses access to use its facilities and network to penetrate into AfCFTA.
IWG Plc, formerly Regus was created in 2016 as the holding group for different flexible workspace companies and listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: IWG), has indicated making available its platform for local businesses to ride-on in advancing their operations to other countries on the African continent and beyond.
“Regus provides tailor-made world class serviced Workspaces, virtual offices and meeting rooms to businesses and organizations seeking for office space on demand at needed durations and with flexible payment terms.
Our presence in over 21 countries in Africa will help local businesses especially SMEs seeking to penetrate the African market to automatically get access to our resources in all these countries. All our spaces are designed for productivity and come with everything included, whether it’s industry leading technology, a professional reception service or quality food and drink. Our solutions offer lower risk and have zero balance sheet impact,” Justice Akli, Area Sales Manager, Regus Ghana, he said.
He further clarified that on Regus network platform are seasoned professionals such as lawyers, accountants, business consultants, marketers and administrators from the various countries that can help SMEs to establish in those countries at an affordable cost.
“An important point in this business model is that, businesses in Ghana can have a business office address in these countries (Virtual Office Solution) with professional front office desk representatives present to offer back-end office support to these SMEs,” he added.
Touching on the cost effectiveness of the model to SMEs, he indicated that these businesses will only pay for what they need as the flexible payment model requires them to even pay on hourly, weekly, monthly or yearly basis hence they will not need to pay rent for a whole office complex for a year or two years when they do not need to use it because their staff are working from home due to COVID-19.
Regus has been operating in Ghana for the past 10 years with four business centers at Movenpick, Roman Ridge, Airport Residential Area and the latest center which became operational on the 1st of February, 2021 at Atlantic Tower in the airport city enclave. All these centers currently housed some of the top international brands in the country which SMEs can have business engagement with and tap into their expertise when they sign onto the network.
