International business development
Company formation, workforce, procurement and freight across Africa, Asia and Iberia.
One partner and one contract for establishing a company, employing the people, buying the goods and moving them — run by our own teams in Johannesburg, Luanda, Maputo, Beijing, Noida, Lisbon and Brazil.
Company Formation & Corporate Services
Incorporation, corporate structuring and the statutory administration that keeps the entity able to trade.
- Company formation by jurisdiction
- Corporate structuring and governance
- Statutory administration and filings
Global Mobility
Getting people legally working: the permit, the employer, the pay and the terms — as one file.
- Work permits and visas
- Employer of Record
- Global payroll
- HR consultancy
Procurement
Sourcing from China and India with our own people at both origins and three inspection gates before dispatch.
- Supplier identification and audit
- Quality inspection at three gates
- Freight and customs on the same file
International Freight
Air, sea and road forwarding with customs clearance on the Asia–Africa and Africa–Europe corridors.
- Freight forwarding, all modes
- Customs clearance and documentation
- Final-mile delivery
Business Expansion
Market-entry strategy and commercial representation on the ground, as an extension of your team.
- Market entry and entry-model design
- Commercial representation
- Business development in-market
Where we operate
Seven markets, our own team in each.
Every market has its own registry, its own labour instrument and its own customs practice. These pages set out what Horizon does in each one, and who does it.
Why it holds together
Five services. One chain.
Each service resolves a distinct point of failure when entering a market. The value is not in the services separately — it is in holding them together, so no margin leaks at the handovers and no responsibility becomes arguable.
An international operation, link by link
Establish
Entity, licensing, tax registration
Mobilise
Visas, employment, payroll
Source
Suppliers qualified at origin
Move
Freight, customs, delivery
Operate
Administration, compliance, growth
How the market is organised
The gaps Every space between those blocks is a handover, and every handover is a point at which margin leaks, timelines extend and responsibility becomes arguable.
What Horizon runs
One contract. One point of contact. Formation to final mile.
Where each step is optimised in isolation, the margin dissipates between the parties. We take responsibility for the whole sequence, so it stays in the operation.
How we work
Four phases, one point of contact.
Phase 01
Diagnosis & strategy
The market, the entry model and the legal, tax and operational requirements.
Phase 02
Set-up & structuring
Corporate structure, licensing, compliance and operational build-out.
Phase 03
Business development
Representation, prospecting, procurement and mobilisation of the first teams.
Phase 04
Operation & growth
Day-to-day management, logistics, payroll and scaling with volume.
Our footprint
Own offices, not a partner network.
Where a document has to be collected at a counter, a factory visited or a container cleared, it is a member of our own team who does it. That is what makes a single chain of responsibility possible.
7 offices
Four continents
4 corridors
Operated in both directions
3 languages
English · Portuguese · Chinese
Johannesburg · Luanda · Maputo · Beijing · Noida · Lisbon · Brazil
Common questions
What clients ask before they start.
Can you hire people for us before we have a local entity?
Yes. Through our Employer of Record service we become the legal employer in the market, so your team can start working while the entity is still being formed — or without ever forming one. We handle the employment contracts, payroll, labour compliance, work visas and legalisation, and you direct the work day to day.
Which markets does Horizon cover with its own teams?
We have offices with our own people in Johannesburg (our headquarters, South Africa), Luanda (Angola), Maputo (Mozambique), Beijing (China), Noida (India), Lisbon (Portugal) and Brazil. Our Lisbon desk covers the whole Iberian peninsula, Portugal and Spain. Beyond these, we work through trusted partners wherever the chain requires it.
Can you source in Asia and deliver into Africa under one contract?
That is the corridor we were built for. Procurement at origin in China and India, freight forwarding by air, sea or road, customs clearance and final-mile delivery into Southern Africa run under a single contract with a single counterpart.
What does one chain of responsibility mean?
One contract and one point of contact for every step: company formation, corporate structuring, hiring and mobility, purchasing, freight and day-to-day operation. Where each step is optimised in isolation, the margin dissipates between the parties. We take responsibility for the whole sequence, so it stays in the operation.
We already have a local entity. Can you still help?
Yes. Engagements often start mid-chain — a company already incorporated that needs staff mobilised, suppliers sourced, freight moved or local administration taken over. We pick up wherever the operation is.
How does an engagement start?
With a diagnosis: the market, the entry model and the legal, tax and operational requirements. From there we move to set-up and structuring, then business development and mobilisation of the first teams, then day-to-day operation and growth. Set out your case and we come back with a read on the entry model, the sequence and who does what.
Contact
The best way to evaluate an integrated chain is to discuss a real case.
A market in mind, a structure to establish, a team to mobilise or an operation to build. Set out the challenge and we return a considered read.
- HQ Johannesburg, South Africa
- Offices Luanda · Maputo · Beijing · Noida · Lisbon · Brazil
- Email info@horizonalliance.net
- Telephone All offices and telephone numbers
Write to us
We read every message and reply from a named person, not a queue — in English, Portuguese or Chinese.