By Oujan Paad Export: the next frontier for many Australian businesses; often thought of as an essential step in strategic growth for successful domestic enterprises. For my part, the thought…
Today’s Food & Beverage Exporters Forum proves the good will that is alive and well in this industry. Senior international buyers from the UK, UAE and Malaysia all shared their…
Julian's Gluten Free Pizza Bases started in a steaming hot kitchen out the back of a popular pizza parlour in Sydney. Short of a nonna’s backyard, this would be the…
Connected to its core values, Australian skincare and wellbeing product manufacturer Sasy n Savy is growing, and earning international accolades. The Sydney-born company has won an impressive slew of awards;…
The world's largest natural, organic and healthy products event, Natural Products Expo West & Engredea, experienced another record‐setting year this year, hosting more than 85,000 attendees. The show was held…
Over the last 2 weeks I undertook market visits in Asia on behalf of clients covering organic and health food, granolas and cake mixes; spice mixes and baby food categories.…
There are not many opportunities to meet face-to-face with Buyers from key overseas retail chains; and even less so without leaving the country. Expos are convenient, considerably less costly, and…
“Time-honoured traditions haven’t simply inspired our business, they are our business. Many of our preserving techniques and recipes are much as they have been for centuries with closely-guarded recipes for…
Saudi Arabia is one of the main players in the Arab world; a quarter of the world's proven oil reserves lie under its deserts. In an effort to diversify its…
There are many ways to get a product into overseas markets. Some of the more common methods (using consolidators or Australian-based distributors) can add also significant costs. The best way…
Rajeshwari joined the Export Connect team as a Project Intern during her final semester of a Bachelor of Business Administration, Finance. After graduating with honours, she is now our full-time Market Analyst and Business Manager.
She juggles multiple roles in the business, taking care of our accounting and social media as well as running Export Connect’s market visit programme, during which she has led two market visits covering four countries.
Rajeshwari has a truly international outlook, having studied in Singapore, Dubai, France and Australia during her degree. She’s passionate about sustainable development and community, representing her university at 23 Session of The Youth Assembly held at United Nations and New York University in New York. Her previous roles include supporting the Senior Director of Sales for a Global Technology Consulting firm and account management for an EAP startup.
Oujan is our Business Development and Project Manager, and another successful graduate of the Export Connect Internship Programme. Since joining Export Connect in November 2017, he has liaised with over 50 domestic and international clients and stakeholders to develop market appraisals for the GCC and Asia in addition to capability-building workshops and industry export strategy plans.
Oujan graduated from Macquarie University with a high distinction average in Commerce, majoring in Marketing and International Business. While completing his degree, he also worked as a Marketing Assistant for a prominent preventative healthcare company operating out of NSW and Tasmania, helping to develop creative and informative digital content by collaborating with Exercise Physiologists, Occupational Therapists, and other allied health professionals.
Oujan plays an active role in Export Connect’s internship program; collaborating with 5 universities across the state to recruit, manage and mentor the students as part of their business undergraduate degrees and MBA programs.
Our Director, Najib founded Export Connect in June 2017 in order to use the skills, connections and expertise he acquired over 25 years in the industry to help companies connect with the right buyers and grow. Najib is highly experienced in the export business, having spent a quarter of a century leading Australian food-export businesses and agri-food industry development teams. He is well known for his capabilities in opening up new export markets and has worked extensively in the Middle East, North and South-East Asia.
Since 2010, Najib has worked with NSW Trade and Investment and Food Innovation Australia Ltd (FIAL), collaborating with businesses, governments and industry groups to grow new export market opportunities.
Since June 2017, Najib and the Export Connect team have shown the pressing need for our tailored, evidence-based export services in Australia. We’ve drawn on our extensive export experience and networks and delivered over 180 market reports and assessments for more than 80 clients. However, Export Connect isn’t just about delivering projects – Najib is keen to share his skills and experience to Australian businesses via our workshops and forums, and to the next generation of business leaders via our popular internship programme.