Across South Australia, innovative businesses are sharing their products with the globe, and taking on new opportunities in international markets.

While breaking into a new market presents clear benefits for diversification and growth for some businesses, finding the confidence to take those first steps or expand further can be daunting for others.

Building strong capabilities internally, connecting with industry peers and finding the right partners to support a global journey are crucial.

Export Finance Australia is Australia’s export credit agency. It supports Australian exports and overseas infrastructure development with flexible finance solutions.

Andrew Perkins, Export Finance Australia’s SA Director, works directly with businesses across South Australia to support their export growth and international expansion.

“What we do at Export Finance Australia is exciting,” Perkins said. “The reason we exist is to support businesses to take that step into the global market and grow globally.”

By taking the time to get to know a business, Perkins explained, Export Finance Australia builds a deeper understanding of its capabilities, which enables the team to take on additional risks when supporting global growth.

Local partners for global success

“The partnerships we build with our customers aren’t just about finance, they are about providing our customers with the confidence to be able to take that next step,” Perkins said.

“The success of a business is really driven by the people behind it. So, being able to meet the people behind a business, understand their passion, how the business has grown and where they want to go, is really important.”

Seed Terminator, a fast-growing, South Australia-based business, is an example of one of Export Finance Australia’s customers that is driving significant value for its clients and experiencing high demand across the globe.

Its innovative product, the Seed Terminator, is helping to change farming practices across the world, saving millions of litres of herbicides and diesel from being used.

After supporting Seed Terminator with its first global contracts to supply its products and build its reputation across Europe and North America, Export Finance Australia has continued to work with the team to explore new opportunities.

Talking about the support from Export Finance Australia, Mark Ashenden, co-founder and executive director of Seed Terminator, said:

“The Export Finance Australia team was brilliant. You need passionate and engaged people in your corner when you’re looking to export – and Export Finance Australia ticks all the boxes.

“Until Export Finance Australia, we didn’t have the money or help for any global expansion.”

At the beginning of 2023, Seed Terminator had more than 550 of its devices in action around Australia and 23 globally, with more in the pipeline. They employed 42 people directly and created another 180 new manufacturing and assembly jobs nationally.

The business is now focused on growing its exports and international presence.

Financing the next steps

Export Finance Australia supports small businesses to larger corporates across a range of industries.

“At the core of what we do is support the growth of a business internationally, whether that be just a single export contract or investing offshore, we’re here for the full journey and want to help enable global success,” explained Perkins.

Working closely with Austrade, the South Australian Government, industry associations and banks, the team at Export Finance Australia is ready to help enable global growth.

“Whether yours is a small business driving growth based on its strong capability and looking to start out on an export journey, or it’s a mature business that has created a new market or is looking at an offshore acquisition – we can provide a range of loans, bonds and guarantees to support those plans.”

If you would like to explore how Export Finance Australia could support your global growth or expansion into a new market, call 1800 093 724 or visit the website to learn more.