- D&B enables access to 355million business records from 30 000 local and global sources
- 25 000 Botswana entities are currently listed on the platform
- The most basic licence costs P15 000 per annum
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Botswana will now have access to global markets and reach millions of customers, thanks to TransUnion’s partnership with Dun & Bradstreet (D&B).
D&B is a leading global provider of business data and analytics. Its partnership with TransUnion will allow Botswana SMEs to make their businesses visible on the global stage and have access to international trade opportunities. This development fills a clear lacuna because research by the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis has found that about 80 percent of small enterprises in Botswana collapse within the first five years of operation mainly due to lack of access to the market.
But as in the rest of the world, Botswana’s SMEs play a critical role in the economy and are believed to account for 50 percent of private sector employment and 15 – 20 percent of the GDP. TransUnion’s partnership with D&B will allow the local enterprises to have access to two key platforms, Hoovers and DataVision, thus enabling them to shift to ecommerce and global markets to accelerate revenues, reduce costs and manage their risks.
Hoovers is a web-based prospecting tool that allows companies to build local and global pipelines while DataVision helps companies assess markets and develop entry strategies through powerful data analytics. TransUnion Botswana Country Manager, Kabelo Raselwana, has told The Business Weekly & Review that any SME that is interested in finding new markets and managing risks better can use TransUnion’s Dun & Bradstreet solutions.
This will come at an affordable fee. “There are different licensing options to fit everyone,” Raselwana said. “The most basic licence costs approximately P15 000 per annum while more feature-rich options are slightly more expensive.” He added that the number of potential clients that an enterprise can reach will depend on the SME and which sector it operates in.
“D&B draws on more than 355 million business records from 30,000 local and global sources and updates its data daily to deliver fresh, accurate, actionable insights,” Raselwana noted. “This gives SMEs access to a 360-degree view of customers to identify, segment and target for growth.” He disclosed that there are approximately 25,000 Botswana entities listed on platform at the moment.
