Book Description
Lesotho has recently come to the attention to global strategic planners. This report puts these executives on the fast track. Ten chapters provide: an overview of how to strategically access this important market, a discussion on economic fundamentals, marketing & distribution options, export and direct investment options, and full risk assessments (political, cultural, legal, human resources). Ample statistical benchmarks and comparative graphs are given.

From the Publisher
Our publications provide timely and reliable market information as a complement to strategic planning processes. For a price well below the cost of a round-trip business-class ticket, the executive has access to the basic factors driving strategic planning. As such, our reports are a 'one-stop' shop by giving coverage on economic and political issues, as well as analyzing human resources, entry strategies and legal risks. With offices in Europe, Africa and the United States, Icon Group International has a number of specialty research groups. This report was published by the Lesotho Research Group.

Excerpted from Executive Report on Strategies in Lesotho, 2000 edition (Strategic Planning Series) by The Lesotho Research Group. Copyright © 2000. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
The primary audience for this report is managers involved with the highest levels of the strategic planning process, and consultants who help their clients with this task. The user will not only benefit from the hundreds of hours that went into the methodology and its application, but also from its alternative perspective on strategic planning in Lesotho. This report helps executives evaluate strategic investment and entry alternatives in Lesotho. In order to evaluate Lesotho, Icon Group International, Inc. draws on a methodology developed by Professor Philip Parker at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France. The methodology decomposes a country's strategic potential along two key dimensions: (1) latent demand, and (2) accessibility. A country may have very high latent demand, yet have low accessibility, making it a less attractive market than many smaller potential countries having higher levels of accessibility. This report provides a strategic profile of Lesotho along these lines. Throughout the discussion, literally hundreds of statistics on Lesotho are benchmarked against regional and global averages. The reader can thus quickly understand where Lesotho fits into the regional and global perspective. The report first investigates the economic fundamentals affecting Lesotho. These fundamentals are the source for Lesotho's latent demand. Then, the subsequent chapters detail Lesotho's accessibility. This evaluation covers a number of entry alternatives, including export strategies, and local direct investment strategies. If a firm decides to have a local presence in Lesotho, this requires a strategic understanding of local business conditions. The conditions investigated in this report include local marketing (advertising, distribution, pricing issues) and entry strategies (opening an office, joint venturing, etc.), as well as human resources management (labor laws, costs, regulations). Because local presence can increase exposure, the report next assesses a number of factors affecting business risks in Lesotho (again, benchmarked against regional and global averages). These include: political risks, legal risks, cultural/demographic risks. Risks can only be evaluated within a historical context; history, alas, often repeats itself. The final chapters summarize Lesotho's economic, political and social history. In doing so, the reader has a full appreciation of history's role in shaping Lesotho's current potential.