By Seleoe Nonyane
Global Consultancy Company will hold a free consultancy conference for small businesses in Mohale’s Hoek on August 19, 2023.
The company offers consultancy services on marketing and accounting for business men and women, either big or small.
The chief executive officer of Global Group of Companies, ‘Musa Maema, says the conference was necessitated by the fact that consultancy services are costly and some business owners cannot afford them.
Maema said their main focus is on street vendors and small business owners, because the company has observed that many such business are stagnant with little prospects of progress.
In the light of this, the company’s initiative is a way of giving back to the community by providing business people with skills that may help their ventures grow and prosper.
Maema noted that his team has observed that there are people who have been in the same business for over 20 years but are not showing signs of growth.
“There might a bigger problem that needs to be tackled. One would expect that after 10 years of selling fruits and vegetables on the streets, the vendors should be owning a fruits and vegetable shop but this seems too far-fetched.
“So, through research made by our team, we discovered that some of street vendors’ businesses are failing because they start without conducting market research.
“Some do not understand the concepts of management and accountancy in business. For instance, someone opens a business without any knowledge of how to grow it. The conference will delve deep into such issues as we believe these are some of the tools needed for the success and growth of businesses,” he indicated.
He reiterated that marketing is the backbone of any company and there is no business that can prosper without marketing and management skills.
The company also discovered that some business people are found wanting when it comes to pricing, and end up copying other businesses’ prices. This could be their downfall, Maema warned.
“These are just the basic elements of growing a business; a business can never do well without supporting partners such as banks, M-Pesa, Ecocash and others. These service providers will also be part of the conference and will provide information on the services they offer which can help small businesses grow. “It is gratifying to see a business grow; it does not benefit the owner only but also the country’s economy,” he added.
