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In this issue we bring our readers to
grasps with what SEDCO does and what the beneficiaries of her services
perceive she should be doing. SEDCO is an organization with a long
history in the area of business promotion. Whether this long history
catalogues success or failure remains to be seen in the interview with
the Managing Director.
- Having worked for SEDCO a few months, what is
your view of the institution?
My first impression is that SEDCO is a parastatal with good and
loyal people in a very beautiful head-office building.
- You have been working for another parastatal
before, what experiences are you bringing to SEDCO?
I am not a
doctor coming in with a prescription but I am coming in with some
operational experience that is coupled with change management for
restructuring. But more importantly I believe I am coming in with the
attitude of learning from the lowest to the highest employee.
- A major public view is that SEDCO has for a long
time failed to meet its objectives and to fulfill its mandate, what is
your take on this?
I do not
agree that SEDCO has for a long time failed to meet its objectives and
to fulfill its mandate otherwise the Shareholder would have taken
corrective action. However I do feel that there is still a lot of work
to be done to improve SEDCO’s services delivery and public image.
- According to your assessment what are the needs
of the SME sector and what is SEDCO doing now and intend to do in the
future to meet these needs?
SME sector
needs a simple model that produces effective collaboration of all
stakeholders whilst giving financial gain.
- SMEs have been described as unwilling to use
Business Development Services (BDS) and yet they need them. What is
the cause of this and what can be done about it?
SMEs are run
by business people often on a shoestring budget. They will only buy if
they are convinced of benefit in other words they will only buy value.
SEDCO has to create a value proposition that is beyond doubt for the
SMEs to participate.
- How credible are the services provided by SEDCO
compared to other service providers and why?
SEDCO’s
services are highly credible. During the E50million scandal SEDCO and
its services were not even mentioned with the providers lacking
integrity.
- What challenges are being faced by SEDCO and how
do you hope to address them?
The biggest challenge
faced by SEDCO is building a value proposition that will give us a
sustainable competitive advantage in terms of superior services and
brand image.
We are currently engaged in the exercise of creating our SEDCO brand
awareness.
- There is a feeling that SEDCO is doing a job
already being done by so many other institutions and therefore is not
necessary what is your view?
My view is that the
unlocking of the entrepreneur spirit among the population can never be
overly done. My major concern would be the need for a referee to ensure
that the quality of the services is up to standard. Another problem is
that most of the service providers tend to concentrate in the urban
areas to the neglect of the poor rural population.
- Can you articulate any future plans for the
organization?
To create an
environment where SMEs can excel by investing more on research and
development so that we can maintain our position of being the leading
business development support company in terms of giving business
opportunities to Swazis. In the coming month we will be launching our
website as well as the “new entrepreneur” concept.
- As a person what drives you; what is your recipe
for success?
I believe I thrive in
a free spirit environment that requires a clear thought process and
initiative.
My recipe for success
is integrity
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Youth enterprise prize category essential
The entrepreneur of the year award
committee should consider introducing a prize category that would
recognize enterprising youth scholars to foster virtues of
self-employment at a very tender age of school going children. This was
an observation by the principal of Boston City Campus and Business
College, Busi Manana during the closing ceremony of a business skills
workshop for Moyeni High School pupils at Mantenga.Manana further mentioned that the
workshop was sponsored by Boston College as a result of SEDCO’s request
for partners in the Enterprising Youth Scholar Program (EYSP) aimed at
raising awareness about the business world among school going children.
“When SEDCO approached Boston for
sponsorship we agreed because we felt the programme was a useful idea.
Boston supports efforts that are aimed at making young people realize
that starting your own business is not as complicated as it is made out
to be. Boston just hopes that SEDCO and the Ministry of Enterprise and
Employment will help link the youth programme with the entrepreneur of
the year awards and a prize category established in addition to the
young entrepreneur prize,” she said. Manana further expressed
her happiness for the students to reject the mentality that since schools
were closed they could not be seen to be involved in anything to do with
books.
“The students, as young as they are,
showed keenness to learn what some adults have not been able to do. For
instance, Boston sponsored a business course worth thousands of
Emalangeni as part of the entrepreneur of the year awards prizes but
only one of those adults sponsored came to learn. Boston views the adult
attitude as a waste of opportunities to gain skill to be better business
people,” she said. The students who are already engaged in
small business operations as cartoonists, photographers, cobblers,
caterers; weavers were trained on skills on how to develop their small
businesses to top-notch status. SEDCO’s Business Counsellor, Andreas
Tsabedze said the students should consider themselves lucky for the
workshop opportunity whilst they were still at school as opposed to the
time when one is faced with the pressure of being unemployed after going
through the school learning process.
“ What an Unforgettable
Experience”
In January 2004 I was privileged to be nominated by the organization
through the Ministry of Enterprise and Employment to participate in a
two and a half months training on a “ Small Enterprise Promotion For
Southern African Countries” course held in Hiroshima, Japan.
There were twelve of us from the SADC region, namely Botswana, Lesotho,
Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The experience obtained from the training is invaluable and it has
significantly boosted my confidence and comprehension of SME issues. A
challenge now lying ahead is putting the knowledge gained into gainful
practice. It would not be logical to boast of knowledge gained without
finding its relevant applicability.
Let me begin by pronouncing my appreciation of the role that SMEs are
given in Japan and the vital role that they have played in transforming
the Japanese economy. Japan is predominantly made up of SMEs, accounting
for 99.7% of all Japanese businesses. The dominance of SMMEs is not by
default, but it is a result of deliberate government policy to increase
the number of SMEs benefiting under SME support measures.
Contrary to practice in
most developing countries the Japanese government has designed a
comprehensive support system for the development of their industries.
Measures vary from those that seek to promote rapid industrial growth to
those that seek to encourage innovation and originality. There is a
strong collaboration between the government, the private sector and
academia. Universities play a pivotal role in translating entrepreneur’s
ideas into realizable dreams through research.
It would demand me a lot of space to catalogue all the achievements that
the Japanese have attained through placing their confidence on the power
of their SME sector, and hence nurturing them through creating an
enabling environment for their operation. I would like to end by
challenging all Swazis to seriously look into the SME sector as the
major stable source of employment in the kingdom and hence give it the
due support.
Marketing Manager,
Daniel Dlamini (second from right, back row) poses for a group photo
with the other JICA Course participants from Southern Africa
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A Roadmap For Success
By:
Thembi Zondo
Setting up one’s business calls for certain
competencies. The best way to determine whether you have the potential
to succeed is to think in terms of the entrepreneurial lifestyle.
Consider the following realities.
Time –seven days
working weeks aren’t uncommon for the entrepreneur particularly during
the early years. This obviously limits the time left over for family,
hobbies, vacations and other personal activities. So if you think being
your own boss will give you flexible hours think again.
Accountability – For
many entrepreneurs a key attraction of starting a business is that
they’re ultimately accountable only to themselves. This means that they
can take not only all the credit for success but also all the blame if
things go wrong. Many entrepreneurs say it is difficult not having
others’ support and assistance when challenges do arise.
Visionary Leadership:
This is a requisite attribute of a successful business. For a business
to succeed, leaders should develop a clear vision and key success
factors and objectives to become leaders in their industry. Successful
business leaders do not have to rely on any one individual.
Acknowledge itself as a major
player: A successful business would never consider itself
small, but would always be looking for new challenges. It would link
goals to customer requirements, competitor strategies, and always assess
organizational strengths and weaknesses.
COGNIZANCE: A
successful business would always be cognizant of the surrounding factors
and respond accordingly.
Business opportunities
Compiled by:
Research Office
Franchise businesses
in Swaziland have not been exploited in spite of the many support
services that such businesses enjoy from promoters of many franchises in
Southern Africa. The services include the training of ones’ employees on
many aspects of the business to ensure that the business becomes a
success. However, locals have not gone out to exploit these business
opportunities for us to talk about a franchise sector in the country.
It is hoped that the following information would provoke some business
thoughts and enquiries would be made about the most suitable franchises
for our local people.
School leavers’ fair
By: Raymond Mnisi
This year’s school leavers fair opened
on the 8th of
March and closed on the 12th of
March 2004. SEDCO had problems finding an exhibition space in the
Malunge pavilion following the failure of the organizing committee to
secure tents from the police college. Seventeen schools visited SEDCO
stand and 172 students expressed interest in becoming part of the EYSP.
EYSP is an acronym of Enterprising Youth Scholar Program meant to
influence scholars to consider self-employment as a career option given
the prevalent high unemployment rate in the country. Every year the
Ministry of Education hosts the school leavers’ fair and invites many
organizations to showcase whatever services could be of importance to
the young scholars of the country in order for the students to make
informed decisions about their future.
Community healthy
nursing business
intervention
By: Raymond Mnisi
The University of
Swaziland’s Faculty of Health students visited SEDCO to request the
organization to conduct an intervention workshop on marketing basics for
the community of Bahai. The intervention, according to the students was
going to help address many of the health issues identified during the
students’ community health nursing program at Bahai. The intervention
was conducted on the 27th March
2004 and there were about 15 adults attending the intervention. The
attendants of the intervention were briefed on how important it was to
handle customers with care, as customers are the source of bread and
butter for every businessperson and also to scout for other business
opportunities in other communities as the Bahai community is over
congested to accommodate enough projects for the members of that
community.
IDCA students’ visits
By: Raymond Mnisi
Two IDCA students
and their instructor came to Mbabane Estate for a visit to four
entrepreneurs: Nonothas, Phephile’s Upholstery, Printing & Stationery
and Buhle Bemaswati. The visit was in partial fulfillment of their
training program at IDCA. The students and their instructor were
impressed with what the entrepreneurs were doing and promised to
recommend such programs in their countries on their return home, that is
in Malawi and Zambia.
US Embassy Handicraft
Marketing Seminar
By: Raymond Minsi
Two members of the proposed Swaziland
Handicraft exporters society, that SEDCO is currently facilitating its
establishment, Mr. Maseko and Mrs. Mkhabela, attended a “Handicraft
Marketing Seminar” held at the Royal Swazi Sun Convention Centre on the
11th March
2004. The seminar was organized and sponsored by the US embassy. The aim
of the workshop was to sensitize Swazi crafters about the abundant
export market that exists in the US for their products. The workshop
also served as a forum for the US Embassy to inform potential and
existing exporters about the conditions of this abundant market in the
US. Essential requirements that were discussed included the specific
market zones, the US buyers’ habits and their expectations, and also the
way US buyers expect their deliveries to be executed.
According to the members, the seminar
was very informative. It gave them a lot of insight into the handicraft
export market in the US and they promised to share the information with
the other members of the proposed society.
Business lunch with
Times’ Business Reporter
By: Raymond Mnisi
SEDCO hosted a
business lunch with the “Times of Swaziland” business reporters, Sipho
Dlamini and Gcebile Ndlovu at the Mountain Inn. The purpose of the
meeting over lunch was to exchange ideas on how the “Small Business
Success Stories” column could possibly be improved. It is worth
mentioning that since it’s launching some several years ago the column
has received a lot of applaud from the entrepreneurs who have been
featured in it. The column serves as a conduit for making known the
operational difficulties that SMEs had to contend with in their daily
functioning. It also serves as a marketing arena for SMEs who can rarely
afford advertising costs
How to build self-esteem
Thembi Zondo
You want to start your
own business or you are already in business but you do not have
confidence on what you are doing? You better build your self-esteem. Do
not forget that work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to
do.
Face your fears; facing your fears will increase your confidence
especially when you realize that your fears aren’t as bad as you think
they’ll be.
Forget your past failures –learn from them, whilst it is true that
history has a tendency to repeat itself, don’t assume that the
unpleasant experiences you once went through would happen again
especially when you do most of your things with utmost care. Avoid
making the same mistakes again, but don’t inhibit yourself by assuming
you can’t succeed this time around.
Know what you want and
ask for it. You deserve to have your dreams come true. Reward yourself
when you’ve achieved something. If you don’t, why should anyone else?
Talk to others –We’re often afraid to admit we don’t understand some
things. If you have any doubts or questions about something ask, don’t
pretend you know something. People value honesty far more than
deception.
If you fail, accept it, learn from it and try again .You aren’t going to
let one failed attempt stop you. Doesn’t everyone fail before they
succeed? All you need is a different approach and the right attitude.
Visit SEDCO when you need a business friend to talk to concerning
challenges you face in your business.
Connecting an
entrepreneur
with Customers
By: Thembi Zondo
When was the last
time you actually spoke to a customer? Do you know who buys your
products and why? How easy or difficult is it for your customers
to complain and give feedback? Getting close to your customers enables
you to strive continuously to meet their needs and secure your business
long-term survival and profitability. Simply follow these guidelines.
Do think of ways to reward customers for
sharing their likes and dislikes. Be careful not to confuse getting
information with intrusion –You don’t want to invade your customers’
privacy.
Don’t make
assumptions about what people think. Do not fall into the trap of
underestimating your customers’ intelligence.
Business need not be rocket Science.
By: Raymond
Mnisi
As Mike walked down the road, a
limousine pulled up at the kerb next to him. It was one of those glamour
jobs usually only heads of state and mafia capos ride in, shiny black
and chrome with bronze-coloured reflective windows.
The limousine stopped, a guy put his
head out and motioned Mike to come closer. Mike did not recognize him at
first, but then it dawned on him that it was Joe, a former school buddy.
Although the two had gone to school together, they had never been really
close; in fact, Mike had always considered Joe to be somewhat dim-witted
with a precluded future.
Joe seemed pleased to meet Mike. “How
are you, man, I haven’t seen you in ages. Jump in, my chauffeur can take
us wherever you have to go and we can catch up along the way,” he said,
shaking Mike’s hand warmly.
After the two had exchanged a few
pleasantries, Mike’s curiosity got the better of him. “You know, Joe, I
am really impressed. During our school days, you weren’t exactly a whiz
kid and your parents weren’t exactly rich either. Now you ride around in
this amazing limousine, wear an Armani suit and Gucci shoes; offer me
French champagne in a crystal glass. It sure seems that you have made it
big. How did you do it?”
Joe looked at Mike rather wistfully and
said, “to be perfectly honest, I don’t really know. All I can tell you
is that after I left school, I couldn’t find a job for ages. In the end,
I met up with this guy who made costume jewellery by hand, interesting
pieces. He gave me some of his stuff on consignment and suggested that I
sell it at flea markets with a 10% mark-up.”
After taking a puff from his fat cigar,
vintage Havana of course, Joe continued: “the deal was that I would pay
the supplier one hundred Rand for each item I had sold so, after adding
my 10% mark-up, I sold the pieces
to foreign tourists for one thousand Rand each. After selling the first
lot, I paid for it and bought more pieces. Business got better all the
time and before long, I was employing a few assistants to help me sell.
“Then one day it struck me. In less than
ten years, I had made more money than my dad, who had worked for 40
years and drawn a salary throughout his entire life, had ever managed to
accumulate. Today, my house and my cars are paid for, my kids go to the
best school in town and if I were to retire tomorrow, my family and I
would lack for nothing”.
“There is something that keeps bothering
me, though, I just can’t work it out. You are a smart guy, may be you
can help me. You know, I don’t like to let on about it, being a
successful businessman and all that, but the truth is that I have never
been very good at maths”.
" Now what I don’t understand is
this: there are guys in retail who tell me that they mark up by 75% or
more, but every now and then, they struggle to make the rent. Me, I mark
up my stuff by a lousy 10%, so tell me, Mike, how come I make bucket
loads of money?”
Okay folks, business isn’t always
that easy, but I hope I managed to make you smile. (Source: Be a
Winner).
Website:
www.sedco.biz
e-mail:
business@sedco.co.sz
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