02 Aug 2022

Small scale entrepreneurs in the ~North West District have praised United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for addressing their needs and building their resilience to withstand shocks.

The entrepreneurs said through a two-day training on the financial literacy and skills development targeting informal sector, which ended Friday July 29 in Maun, the organisation equipped them with information, knowledge and entrepreneurial skills. The training was part of the implementation of the Informal Sector Recovery Plan (ISRP) from COVID-19, which focuses on social protection of both the private sector and the informal against the effects of the pandemic on the country’s socio-economic landscape.

Entrepreneurs were drilled on areas of business management, ethical leadership, financial literacy, planning, how to apply marketing mix to their businesses as well as the benefits of using electronic business among others.

One of the entrepreneurs, Ms Onthatile Samajwa noted that the pandemic had affected them negatively, as many could not cope and believed that with the skills and knowledge they acquired from training, they would bounce back and eventually grow to create job opportunities for others.

Most entrepreneurs, she admitted had been running businesses haphazardly because they lacked entrepreneurial skills and hoped they would now be able to apply the knowledge to run sustainable businesses.

‘We have learnt a lot from the training and we will effectively use the knowledge and skills we acquired to manage our financial resources for lifetime financial security. 

Initially we did not understand the importance of saving for future emergencies like the pandemic,” she added.

Ms Samajwa, who operates a tuck shop, sells jewellery, perfumes and clothes, revealed that some saved only if they had made better profits, but they did not have a proper plan, hence they had more expenses than savings.

The vibrant and ambitious youthful entrepreneur sees herself operating a boutique in the future and hiring other young people.

Another entrepreneur, Ms Oarabile Sanyedi, who runs a poultry project concurred that the training was a welcome development, as they lacked skills in many areas of marketing, financial management as well as planning.

She is of the view that a major barrier to the growth of sustainable informal sector was inadequate financial literacy and noted that the training was an eye opener, as they would now be able to make informed decisions with all of their financial gains.

Ms Sanyedi further admitted that the informal sector was hard hit by the pandemic, resulting in some business collapsing, but she appreciated that some soldiered on despite the circumstances.

“My project was also affected,  but the government cushioned some of us by purchasing chicken for those members of the community who were in distress,” she added.

In an interview, UNDP technical advisor from the Informal Sector Unit, Ms Kefhilwe Mokotedi noted that they embarked on training after an assessment, which revealed  that the informal sector lacked skills on financial literacy and access to finances to run successful businesses.

In addition, she said the sector was left behind in terms of cushioning during the pandemic and they saw it fit to come up with initiatives aimed to give them hope and ensure promotion of equality among all members of the society.

Earlier on, one of the training facilitators, Ms Dawn Lyken-Segosebe urged participants to acquire financial literacy in order for their business to flourish.

Financial literacy, she said helped one to understand how they spent their profits, adding that proper record-keeping was key as businesses dealt with multiple transactions.

Participants were also drilled on the importance of saving and investing and were encouraged to save before they spent money on bills and debts.

“Without surplus, you will not have savings and without savings you will not be able to invest. 

Without investment, you are financially doomed,” she added. Ends