GMBA celebrates first anniversary

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GMBA’s network include’s Singapore’s YP Loke

Global Marine Business Advisors (GMBA), a group of industry personalities located around the globe, has marked its first 12 months of providing knowledge, expertise and contacts to businesses and industry bodies.

GMBA started with 12 advisors and now has members in 17 countries: Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, UK, USA and UAE.

Projects for clients over the past year include reports and assessments on marina networks, marina acquisitions and designs, yacht building and sub-contractors, market intelligence, marketing strategies and websites, investment opportunities and potential export markets. A current project is the development of market intelligence seminars for various businesses and industry bodies.

The group started after three industry stalwarts felt the knowledge, expertise and networks of key professionals within the marine industry should be harnessed and used cost effectively for the benefit of the sector, especially for businesses looking to grow and enter markets across the globe.

Jouko Huju in Finland said: “Our advisors are currently either working independently or in teams, their key advantage being the significant networks, knowledge and general expertise at their fingertips. GMBA has opened doors and identified opportunities that only years in the sector can initiate.

“Given most of the advisors have worked together in the past and are well known to each other, it makes collaborating on global projects easy and generally achieves better outcomes for the clients.”

Spread across five continents, the advisors bring a cultural dimension to their approach with an in-depth knowledge of the markets in which they live and work.

Singapore’s YP Loke said: “It is hard to find another consultancy group in recreational boating that is as knowledgeable and geographically diverse. Our connectivity to the marketplace and each other has ensured we are well positioned to support our clients, whether it be individually or collectively.”

GMBA was launched in February 2020 and launched a new website last August. Despite a slow start due to the Covid-19 pandemic, GMBA has grown its advisory network and reported a broad range of activities over the past year.

MaryAnne Edwards in Australia stated: At our original launch, “I said it’s a tough road for businesses entering and surviving in the marine industry nationally and globally, whether in the recreational boating or superyacht sector. The Covid-19 pandemic has only made this more difficult.

“As such, it has been exciting to be able to open doors to global markets and provide introductions for exporters and importers, thus shortcutting that often arduous road to new markets.”