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diginomica

2 resources from diginomica we point people to, and the questions each answers.

📄 Article
✓ Link checked India Free Advanced

Shows what Zoho's engine looks like now: 25 plus offices in regions people usually emigrate from, local hiring, local pricing, and absorbing a 150 percent currency devaluation in Nigeria rather than passing it on, which grew that market 30 percent.

ZohoDay 2024: Zoho's local approach to global expansion

From diginomica by Phil Wainewright Long read

  • Zoho calls its model transnational localism: 25-plus rural offices worldwide, each hiring and selling locally.
  • Location criteria are quality of life, not talent pools: affordable housing, healthcare, schools, low crime.
  • Zoho absorbed Nigeria's 150 percent currency devaluation instead of billing in dollars, and still grew 30 percent there in 2023.
  • A Dubai partnership brought in more than 4,000 paying customers.
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📄 Article
✓ Link checked India Free Advanced

Zoho's answer to the being-from-India question is local teams, local offices and local pricing rather than louder marketing, explained here in the company's own words. A genuinely different model from the Freshworks inbound route.

Zoho talks up 'transnational localism' as key to success

From diginomica by Chris Middleton ~10 min read

  • Transnational localism means landing senior people in each geography to build local teams and localise the product, not just opening a sales office.
  • Zoho ran 80 million users, 12,000 employees, and 50 plus apps on 650 million dollars of 2021 revenue with 240 million in profit.
  • Being bootstrapped is framed as what makes the slow local build affordable, since there are no outside shareholders to answer to.
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