By Risco Lumamezi
German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation has sponsored a 3-day training workshop to 50 Small and Medium Enterprises in Katima Mulilo recently.
A training manual guide“Micro Business Game” which empowered the participants with skills and a particle knowledge has been offered for free of charge to existing and upcoming business owners and to those with business ideas in helping them to climb up and become successful entrepreneurs in Namibia.
Ms. Kaeno Mujoro, the facilitator and an expert entrepreneur by profession assigned to Zambezi region said the workshops are designed in a way that each entrepreneur enhances the knowledge of business areas they choose to operate, adding that it will also help them to gain skills to do book- keeping and understand their financial statements and do their own balance sheets while running their businesses independently and successfully.
“This workshop will also allow entrepreneurs to understand basic concepts like market research” she said.
The workshops are being facilitated by the Ministry of Industrialisation , Trade and SME Development supported financially by the German Sparkassenstiftung whose headquarter office for Africa is based in Zambia.
“We are really honoured as the country to have this support especially now after COVID-19 for bringing these trainings to entrepreneurs to take on aspects to start their businesses”
The workshops started in May in all regions of Namibia and will end in June this year.
Mujoro pointed out that Sparkassenstiftung supported different institutions and Non-governmental organisations , and public entities such as Windhoek Vocational Training Centre, Ministry of Finance and many other institutions in the country as part of its corporate social responsibility policy and cooperation in Africa.
She encouraged all young people to go to the Ministry of Industrialisation , Trade and SME Development and get registered as they are still conducting another training next month for June.
However, Ms. Petra Sinkolela one of the participants and the owner of Cynthia Poultry project that was established in 2016 which she founded through information and research where she supplies chicken for meat, eggs and equipment related to poultry such as cages, feeders, drinkers and egg trey appreciates the service of the Ministry of Trade and SME Development for empowering the participants to do the right things pertaining their businesses.
“From this workshop I now know that I can project my own focus for my budgeting of my business, managing my income statement, balancing and how to find my net equity of my accounting” She explained.
She added that in such training that empowers people to be self-motivated in improving to work with others, she will be competent in whatever she does.
Another participant Ms. Mpule Chika who runs a boutique store at Choto Open Market where she sells men and women clothes, shoes and other accessories, the business that was registered in 2021 also commended the Ministry and German Sparkassenstiftung for providing such workshops to entrepreneurs in Namibia.
“When I started my business, I was not making any profit but I was not discouraged I just continued and in this training that we had , we were guided to invest and making sure that every cent a person gets in business has to be counted and recorded, we also learnt how to fill financial statements and how to find net equity with mostly money generated in a business to be invested for future use” She stressed.
According to German Sparkassenstiftung , since 1990s, the Business Games have become an international brand with more than 20 thousand participants annually.
“By implementing this innovation and interactive learning experience, German Sparkassenstiftung contributes to strengthening financial literacy.
The Micro Game contributes to improve entrepreneurial literacy by encouraging behavioural change through the game environment, repetition and sharing experiences with other participants.”
During the training , workshop participants acquired basic skills such as understand basic accounting principles, apply simple financial tools such as sales forecast, cash flow and many others.
To Understand the role of different business stakeholders , define goals and strategies for business, acquire know-how in marketing, Market dynamics and competition and recognise the interface between microfinance institutions and clients.
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