Forum helps small entrepreneurs gain business ideas |02 August 2016
Small entrepreneurs had the opportunity to gain much needed business ideas yesterday through a forum organised by the Small Enterprise Promotion Agency (Senpa) as part of activities to commemorate its 12th anniversary.
Present during the forum were Investment, Entrepreneurship Development and Business Innovation (MEDBI) Minister Michael Benstrong, Member of National Assembly (MNA) Sylvianne Valmont, chief executive of Senpa Penny Belmont, small business entrepreneurs and Senpa officers.
The meeting took place at the Independence House Annex.
The four presenters at the forum included consultant Daniella Larue who talked about ethics in business – keeping a positive attitude, while accountant Jean Marie Moutia based his presentation on the importance of maintaining a good account and recording one’s business.
Oliver Bastienne, chairperson of the Youth Entrepreneurship Board, talked about business environment, access to funding and education while the former chairman of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Marco Francis, did a presentation on marketing.
In his opening remarks Minister Benstrong said this forum has arrived at an opportune time to talk about how business ideas can be made into a reality.
“I am very pleased with the subjects chosen, as it falls perfectly under the ministry’s strategy for the development of small and medium businesses (SMEs) and one of the most important part is improve the training of entrepreneurs focusing on the incubation period,” he said.
Ms Belmont said this forum was held to focus on the challenges they face and solutions Senpa can come up with.
“Senpa is trying to give solutions to entrepreneurs and not only how to start a business but trying to unblock the roadblocks. Therefore this forum is trying to change the mindset of people as we know starting a business is very easy but staying in business is very difficult, so once a person goes into business they have to do it properly and in the right way,” she said.
Mrs Larue said ethics is a person’s way of reasoning to make a decision and to ensure that you make the right decision that will benefit you and others as well.
“We go into business to make money and it is not wrong to do that; however, it must not only bring benefits to you but also the society, consumers, stakeholders and suppliers. This is because you cannot and it is not right to enter in business and think only about yourself,” she said.
Mrs Larue reminded that good ethics means a good reputation and that one must treat others the way they would like to be treated.
Mr Moutia said keeping business records is an important responsibility that an entrepreneur has for him or herself, the authorities, suppliers and buyers.
He said that without record keeping whether you are a sole trader, in a partnership or a company you will not know where you stand and where you are going.
He also stated that not maintaining a good account is a major reason for business failure.
“It’s not solely about fulfilling regulations; it has to matter to you to know where you are going, have details of what is happening in the business, be able to plan for the future, and also comply to legal and tax requirements,” he explained while giving reasons for keeping good business records.
When referring to the business environment, Mr Bastienne said the jurisdiction of the entrepreneurship landscape is rather challenging in Seychelles.
“In terms of ease of doing business it is still difficult, there are still a lot of stumbling blocks for example accessing land; however we must also recognise there are measures that government has implemented and is working to face the challenges,” he said.
He said in terms of access to funding under the SME scheme they want to find new ways to make it more effective to help entrepreneurs who are struggling to move forward.
“For education our challenge is that we need more curricula which infuse entrepreneurs skills, for example, competitions, how to make business plans, more talks by business leaders or courses that stimulate innovative skills. This is important as we cannot teach entrepreneurship but we can teach them the skills they need,” he said.
Mr Francis said being an entrepreneur means selling the product or service at hand and to do so the person must sell themselves first.
“As an entrepreneur you need to market yourself first, your buyer will be attracted by you before being attracted by your product or service,” he said.
He also said that the second most important fact in marketing as an entrepreneur is believing in the product and service you offer.
“There needs to be a chemistry, and if you do not believe in the product the negative aura will be transferred to the client and they will question you and your product,” he said.
