South Australia's eSquare, up and running on little funding for only a matter of months, is already seeking offshore opportunities.eSquare is a B2B exchange for IT goods and services. Primarily the buyers are small businesses and individuals and the suppliers are traditional IT resellers. The buyer submits a request for a quote on a particular product, which is then viewed by a network of sellers. After the sellers provide quotes, the buyer is able to compare prices, availability and freight costs to determine where they will purchase from.
A connection of new channel partners has enabled eSquare to consider selling its eProcurement engine into Asia. "It was not part of our original vision. We have the potential to spin off an e-procurement solution division as a result of the technology we've developed," said founder Andrew Lee. "Through the help of our newly appointed technology partner Praxa and our overseas partner network in Asia, we realised that we have an opportunity to re-badge our eSquare e-procurement engine and the potential to on-sell it into the SME (small and medium enterprises) market."
"This is one benefit of developing our own technology rather than buying technology," he said. "IP (intellectual property) forms a critical asset of the business."
Co-founder Daniel Kitingan said the fruits of these channels will be soon announced. The company is currently in negotiation with a major portal player in Asia for a joint-venture agreement.
Unlike many of its e-tail and B2B exchange peers, eSquare is pulling in a reasonable amount of revenue considering its scale and geography. The company has secured a new round of private funding to the value of $450,000, an important boost for a project that began with only $200,000 in seed funding.
