17 Mar 2019

Poverty eradication beneficiaries in Ramotswa constituency have been encouraged to work together to keep their businesses going.

The call was made by a business consultant, Ms Shale Ntsima of T.O.T Training Consultancy during the beneficiaries’ business management training at Lion Park on March 14.

 Some beneficiaries had complained that businesses such as bee keeping needed urgent space of operation or else they ran the risk of closing shops as bees needed an open space.

Others decried lack of market access for their products while others cited high prices for raw materials which hindered business success.

However, Ms Ntsima said beneficiaries must embrace each other and work together to beat some of the challenges.

She stated that there were beneficiaries who had idle farms which they could lease to bee keepers.

 The business consultant said what they deemed to be a challenge could be an opportunity for their fellow beneficiaries hence the need to work together.

“You have been called here to start working together and overcome challenges,” stated Ms Ntsima.

She noted that there were challenges that businesses would have to operate with, as nothing could be done about them in a short period of time.

However, she said entrepreneurs should keep themselves updated with developments in their industries and know areas of expansion.

Ms Ntsima said government assisted the beneficiaries to aid them out of poverty hence they should thrive to succeed.

She said poverty was a mental state hence the need for them to change their attitude and grow out of the poverty eradication programme and sustain their lives.

 She further encouraged entrepreneurs to be customer orientated, adding that good customer care practice would help them to keep customers.

One participant, Ms Emely Motshwane said she aspired to grow her business of mobile kitchen into a restaurant.

She encouraged fellow beneficiaries to dream big and grow their businesses despite the challenges they went through.

 Another beneficiary, Mr Onkabetse Mmusi, who was assisted with leather works business, said the business was not doing well as leather works was a demanding business with high expenses.

However, he said he had to look for alternatives such as being a cobbler, hair dresser and making tyre seats to improve his livelihood.

The two-day training was to equip beneficiaries with business management to improve their business knowledge.ENDS