This is the second of three blog posts created with masters students of Swiss Universities of Applied Sciences from a variety of academic fields receiving the Hirschmann foundation scholarship. The goal for the students was to develop creative solutions and innovative outputs on how Swiss companies can strengthen ethical business practices and build positive, long-term relationships with local communities.
Authors: Jonah Eyer, Marc Hochuli, Alain Pfammatter, Julia Schüpfer, Pascal Weber and Sarah Schriber
To start a successful collaboration in novel markets, the fundamentals are trust and mutual understanding. In this blog we guide you through the key principles for building positive relationships before engaging in business partnerships with emerging markets to ensure long-term success.
Janick Fischer, Co-Founder of McomTech GmbH, shares insights on leveraging digital transformation to unlock opportunities. His company automates B2B sales via WhatsApp, enabling businesses in developing markets to compete with just a smartphone and internet connection. Fischer’s knowledge about entering such novel markets highlights how trust and relationship-building drive successful collaborations. According to him, a stable foundation requires extensive knowledge regarding law, privacy and data security.
Building Trust Before Business: The Key to Long-Term Success
In our increasingly digital and connected world, international collaborations are crucial for businesses. Yet exactly this framework often hampers the process of building trust in partnerships across the globe. Overcoming barriers, set by culture or language for example, can only be enabled by a strong foundation of trust. Consistency in interactions with partners is a pivotal step to attain such a trustworthy long-term alliance. The basis for this lies in the principle that future expectations are based on past behaviours. Consistency is also indispensable due to the fact that it takes time to build trust, which can be diminished rapidly again. A good comparison is touching a hot stove. This negative experience will imprint on your memory while good experiences require frequent reinforcement. Janick Fischer also mentions trust as a basis for success, because it allows you to do work or orders on invoice, instead of having to wait for payment. It often helps to talk to existing partners or companies which are already established in said regions to get a quick overview of local customs. He likewise suggests having a local person to make introductions and thus adapt to their culture and languages.
Leveraging Digital Tools for Successful Collaboration
In novel markets, digital tools play a crucial role not just in operational efficiency, but in relationship-building itself. They provide low-barrier entry points for dialogue, transparency, and responsiveness—essential factors when partners are separated by geography, time zones, or cultural differences. Especially in early stages, tools like WhatsApp or cloud-based platforms can help replace face-to-face interaction with meaningful, real-time connection. Businesses that recognize the strategic value of these tools—rather than treating them as mere utilities—gain a decisive advantage. This mindset is what enables digital innovators to build trust from a distance and create inclusive opportunities for collaboration right from the start. It is also important to use the tools which are already commonly used in said market to reduce friction and learning curves. A significant challenge is likewise posed by data security, since every country implements its own regulation. To simplify this, they are pushing forward ISO 27001, an international framework which attempts to align such policies across countries.
Building trusting relationships is not a side issue, but rather the foundation for successful cooperation in new markets. Prioritising trust, cultural understanding and digital proximity when entering new markets can be considered an important key to long-term business success.