PPC and Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) have joined forces to empower Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMES) by offering them entrepreneurship development training of most basic courses of business.
Last Friday about 20 business owners graduated from a Business Records Keeping and Management course jointly sponsored by the two entities.
The training which saw the two organizations spending close to P35 000 on cost sharing basis took place over 4.5 days period.
LEA has set five courses being Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development Training, Customer Care and Retention, Business Planning and Sales and Marketing for SMMES in brick moulding business.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Head of Capacity Development at LEA, Mompati Baiphethi said the idea was initiated by PPC in recognition of LEA mandate in business development and to help SMMES.
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The training programme is expected to last for a year.
“Lack of business management skills is always stated as the reasons for the failure of many businesses. In order to address this, LEA has set five core business skills development courses. This aims to empower SMMES to have robust and efficient record keeping and management systems which will ensure that decisions are based on evidence and the trends coming out of the records. We agreed to work together for the good of the economy and SMMEs. Those who benefited will grow. This cannot be done by the government alone because if done by the private sector there will be much more growth, mentoring coaching building capacity for SMMEs for them to develop ideas and business,” said Baiphethi.
The courses offer both theory and practical examples and templates of key records a business should have; therefore this having been put together will help SMMES to be able to assess their viability as they are able to generate reports on a regular basis.
As a result, training is expected to improve business management such that businesses can ensure viability, competitiveness and growth.
For his part, PPC Sales Manager Cliff Alfred said the partnership is for economic growth of SMMEs.
“This has aided some businesses to be able to self-sustain, desire to do more, will be more instrumental in the growth of these entities. Manufacturing secures the future of any economy so by feeding SMMs with knowledge, we expose them to external business opportunities. We shall continue with our commitment to support enterprises because we want the communities we live and operate in to have better life,” he said.
For her part, a graduate of the programme- Sethunya Mokgwa, said she was grateful for the opportunity to enroll in the training since the knowledge acquired will be vital in her daily business operations.
The next course will be Sales and Marketing followed by Business Planning for new businesses and those seeking expansion.
Those who attended the first course will be enrolled for the LEA business advisory and mentoring services for support.
