IEMED™ stands for Integrated Export Marketing for Economic Development.

It has received widespread interest from economists, most notably at the London School of Economics and respected professionals in marketing.

Our vision is pragmatic.

It is based on adopting the effective – and proven – techniques of successful global corporations and adapting them to national economic development and the measurable improvements of livelihoods.

So there is nothing new or risky about the ingredients of our methodology.

What is totally new is adapting those techniques to the needs of a nation or a region/ state or even a sector.

IEMED™ is applicable to any developing and emerging economy worldwide.

It provides a solution to various strategic economic issues for a country – such as the middle-income trap or the Dutch Disease; the threat to unskilled and even skilled jobs from robotic manufacture and 3D printing; the pressures of sustainable production, environmental concern and climate change – and not just the REALITY of these factors but also their impact on consumer attitudes, expectations and behaviours.

What’s more, it has at its very heart the need and methodology to retain profit in the hands of the people of the country.

It works. Because it is pragmatic. [Validation of concept]

Its essence: it anticipates change and does not simply respond to change – taking account of evolving consumer attitudes, which are, together with technology, the key driver to change. It is based on adopting the effective – and proven – techniques of successful global corporations and adapting them to national economic development.

Creating new structures.

Requirements will differ per country, per sector. But what matters is to make sure that there are in place – creating them if/as necessary – structures for the development and management of the export brands; for establishing the required standards and their enforcement; for identifying and finding solutions for stumbling blocks; for identifying opportunity and chasing it.

What is the thinking that led to IEMED™?

The Asian Tiger model of development through private enterprise is generally recognised to have been infinitely more effective than any other economic model so far. It results in a country being able to produce internationally accepted brands, so that the added value is reflected in the perception of that country and all that it produces. The brand’s profits remain in the country, nourishing employment and social development.

However, the Asian Tigers' success took many decades. The Nation Consultancy has developed programmes and structures that can produce similar results but in a much, much shorter period of time and also across a broader spectrum of economic activity.

The IEMED™ Approach

The IEMED™ Approach.

No two countries are the same. No two are at precisely the same stage of development.

Nonetheless, there are a number of difficulties and opportunities that countries face in common – not least of which is the need to develop strong export brands that can sell directly abroad, create the right sort of awareness and reputation for the country, – but without a huge budget to spend on promotion.

All economies need to accelerate growth, diversify the economy, benefit rather than suffer from global changes and develop strong profitable business with sustainable and profitable export brands. Most need to support agriculture-based production in that way, too. All need to provide viable, long-term employment for all sections of the population, evenly, across all regions of the country.

All countries need to develop resilience in their economies. We cannot always protect directly against natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis but if demand for products is resilient, recovery can happen quicker. But other shocks can be anticipated to some extent. Some are vulnerable to climate change, many to currency volatility or shocks from disease. Commodity prices spike and fall. The global economy means that a shock to crops in one country dramatically affects others on the opposite side of the globe. Even tourism is not completely reliable.

If we build a body of consumers and tourists who love and trust the country and its products, and if the products themselves are successfully branded and differentiated, we can help to build livelihoods that offer a much greater degree of stability and communities which are more resilient.