Business Development Service for enterPRIZE Job Creation Challenge Winners
ILO partnered with Royal Business Consult Trust (RBCT) to provide the Improve Your Business (IYB) training to the seventeen winners in Harare, Zimbabwe.
1 December 2015
“It is not just the capital injected in a business that makes it viable and successful but planning and having forecast in businesses matters the most”, Sandra Vunganai, SIYB Trainer.ILO partnered with Royal Business Consult Trust (RBCT) to provide the Improve Your Business (IYB) training to the seventeen winners. During the awards ceremony for the enterPRIZE Job Creation Challenge, held on 27 August 2015, the ILO committed itself to facilitate the provision of Business Development Services to winners. To fulfill that commitment, the ILO partnered with Royal Business Consult Trust (RBCT) to provide the Improve Your Business (IYB) training to the seventeen winners, including nine Field Officers drawn from the nine winning districts. The two day training took place at Macheke Lodges and Conference Centre from 30 November 2015 – 01 December 2015.
The workshop began with welcome remarks and introductions led by the ILO National Project Coordinator, Musitaffa Mweha. The National Project Coordinator explained the objectives of the workshop; to equip the potential entrepreneurs with basic business management skills and to plan with the winning entrepreneurs on how they are going to use their prize money for the growth of their businesses. In his remarks, he urged the entrepreneurs to network, exchange contacts and explore the various opportunities in their different enterprises.
“The prize money is not for welfare but seed capital to grow your business, therefore this workshop will focus on training you how to improve the way you are conducting your business”,urged Enock Mumba, SIYB Trainer.
Sandra Vunganai in her presentation emphasized the need for record keeping, personal and business assessment, which includes the political, environmental, social as well as the technology analysis. This also enhances on identification and strengthening of the current weaknesses of a business.
As day one progressed, individual assessments were carried out by the Facilitators. They brought to light the strengths and weaknesses of the entrepreneurs’ business proposals. At the end of day one, the entrepreneurs created networks for market linkages. Entrepreneurs who had no email addresses were assisted by the Field Officers to create email addresses using Gmail.
Phillipa Sanyatwe, a horticulture beneficiary from Nyanga beamed with joy and quipped,
“I have managed to discuss with Ernest Chamanga, who already has a big market for onions which he is failing to supply and he is willing to introduce me to his market so that I can supply the onions. I have already harvested my onions but the market is my biggest challenge”.
Day two was characterised by intensive training on the IYB module. This involved covering topics such as business planning for the future, formulation of the sales and cost plan and how to use the tools to improve businesses.
In planning, the entrepreneurs managed to get an understanding on the benefits of thinking ahead and working out what to do about something before it happens. Maggie Mapanga reiterated to her colleagues that planning is thinking ahead and making informed decisions about your business to avoid uncertainties.
“A sales and cost plan shows you the sales, costs and profit a business is likely to have in the coming months or year”,highlighted Enerst Chamanga, one of the US$2000 winners from the Mutoko horticulture project.
The entrepreneurs managed to go through the seven steps followed when drafting sales and cost plans and demonstrated their understanding on individual worksheets.
During the course of the day, the entrepreneurs were privileged to be joined by the Director of RBCT, Mafelile Molala-Saidi. She shared some brief motivational remarks on how important the training was and how mentorship was going to improve their businesses.
“It is our shared responsibility to ensure that the prize money to be received will serve its rightful purpose and enhance business growth”,said the RBCT Director.
Towards the end of the day, Sandra Vunganai made a presentation on cash flow formulation in business planning. She reiterated that the entrepreneurs must always ensure that they prepare a forecast, which shows how much cash will be expected to come into their businesses and how much is expected to go out of their businesses.
“A cash flow plan helps business people to make sure that their business does not run out of cash at any time”,explained Apronia Gurure from her own understanding of cash flow after the presentation.
As the day reached its climax, the Trainers had a one on one discussion with the entrepreneurs and their respective Field Officers. The disbursements differed with the business and also from the individual assessment that had been made by the Trainers. All the entrepreneurs were going to receive their prize money in two installments except Clara Nyabadza and Enerst Chamanga.
“The idea of receiving my prize money in two disbursements is an advantage to me because it will give me enough time to procure consumables and small tools for my salon knowing that the other part of my money is in safe custody of RBCT”,admired Maggie Mapanga, a hairdresser who was going to get her prize money of US$1000 in two installments.
As the curtain came to a close, the Trainers assured the entrepreneurs that they will be working with the Field Officers and their Associate Consultants to monitor the utilization of the prize money, as per the agreed implementation plan.