Legal services firm LegalWise plans to complete the establishment of its Namibia and Botswana branches by the end of this year as part of its five-year expansion strategy.

“Being a cause-driven company, we would like to make the law accessible to normal citizens at affordable premiums so that they can enforce and defend their legal rights,” says LegalWise CEO Jan Luwes.

Owing to this, the company established a branch in Botswana in 2012 and is set to establish one more by the end of this year as a way to make its services more accessible. Also, in 2013, the company established two branches in Namibia, which it is looking to grow and expand further during this year.

“In both countries, we were fortunate enough to get accepted by the people there for the services we provide, owing to the fact that the South African media reaches into these countries and makes people aware of our brand,” he notes.

Luwes adds that the premiums being affordable for normal citizens and the ability of citizens to gain access to the services offered by the company at anytime have meant the brand is recognised and accepted.

Moreover, to ensure that the company gains the recognition of citizens in these countries, it has used a combination of recruiting local legal practitioners and sending South African personnel to assist in driving the mandate of the brand.

“With this in mind, we recruit the local legal practitioners and place them in our academy here in South Africa, where they have an option to learn from about 32 modules that guide them on how the brand works for the betterment of our clients. This also allows us to teach them the culture of the company so that they can relate with our customers adequately,” states Luwes.

He notes that the academy also provides training on how legal matters can be resolved quicker by way of reaching an agreement with the other party without having to go to court. This, Luwes highlights, gives the client the assurance that matter is being dealt with legally without prolonged court procedures.

With respect to the culture in these countries, establishing the LegalWise brand was not a big issue, as similar regulations and law enforcement to that practiced is South Africa applies, says Luwes. However, he mentions that where applicable the company does change its services to ensure that it best services specific needs.

“When we research these countries, we look at their needs and adapt our services and products. The recruitment of local legal practitioners has allowed for the adaptation to take place.”

Given the proven success that has been achieved so far with the Namibia and Botswana branches, LegalWise plans to expand into other African countries within the next five years.