SA businessman clinches R10m worth of deals in Chile

A South African businessman who participated in the Outward Trade and Investment Mission (OTIM) to Peru and Chile clinched a multi-million rand deal with two Chilean companies.

Jaco van Wyk of Genesys Workforce Systems, which specialises in offsite monitoring and asset protection solutions, signed a R9-million deal with a Chilean telecommunications company, Movistar, and also a R1million contract with a local public hospital to provide access control and time and attendance solutions.

According to Van Wyk, it all started when his company participated in two mining exhibitions in Chile in April last year and earlier this year.
"This is where we were able to introduce our product to the market and were able to meet many of our potential customers. We were able to finalise and sign the deals during this OTIM," he said.
He added that appointing an agent in Chile to coordinate business on his company's behalf made things a lot easier for him.

"The Chilean business people want to build a relationship and establish trust before they can do business. Having an agent in Chile assisted in that he was able to make follow-ups on the leads we got and further market our products on our behalf," added Van Wyk.
The Johannesburg-based businessman said his projects would kick off in the next two months.