Jaffu’sambitionhasalwaysbeentoexpandthebusiness.Butdespitehavingavailablefinanceandalaborforceathisdisposal,hedidnotknowhowtogoaboutit.Hesaidthemethodheusedtoattractcustomersnevervariedandhadbecomestale.Changewasneeded.
“Infact,wewerepredictablebecausewhencustomerscame,theyknewhowtheywouldbegreetedandthetypeofmerchandisetheywouldfind,”saidJaffu.
LikeJaffu,MwirihaKapondamgaga,anenterprisingladywhoownsCNSInvestments,hasbeenthinkingabouthowtoimproveherbusinessinterests.Someoftheseincludehomeinteriorandgardendécorproducts,coffeeandteaandeventsmanagement.
“Honestly,itwasirritatingbecauseeverythingIwasdoing[toimprovemybusinesses]didnotcomeoutaccordingtomyexpectation.Ihadwantedtoacquiresomenewideassothatmybusinesstakesadifferentdirection,butIdidnotknowhow[togoaboutit],”shesaid.
Dreamcometrue
Asifinanswertotheirprayers,JaffuandKapondamgagawereamong30MalawianSMEownersselectedtogotoChinaforbusinesstrainingbythecountry’sSmallandMediumEnterpriseDevelopmentInstitute(SMEDI).AccordingtoTapiwaNsanja,SMEDIPublicRelationsOfficer,the30entrepreneurs,wholeftonJune9andreturnedonJuly12,studiedatHunanInternationalBusinessVocationalCollegesituatedinChangshaCityinsouthChina’sHunanProvince.
“ChinahasanagreementwiththeMalawianGovernmentthroughtheMinistryofIndustry,TradeandTourismtosendentrepreneurstoChinaeveryyearforspecialtraining.AllcostswerecoveredbytheChineseEmbassy[inMalawi].Attheendofthetraining,theyreceivedcertificatesofattendance,”saidNsanja.
SomeofthetopicscoveredduringthetrainingincludedSMEpromotion,competitivestrategy,organizationstructuredesign,financialmanagementandbrandstrategy.
Inaddition,thetraininggavedeeperinsightintoresearchonthedevelopmentstrategyofChineseenterprises,corporatecultureandcapitalmarketcultivationofSMEs.
“ThisisthesecondgroupoftraineestovisitChina.Thefirstonewastherein2017,”saidNsanja.
Openingeyes
TheSMEtraineeswereskepticalatfirstastheyexpectedtobeintroducedtothestandardoutdatedmarketingformulaforattractingnewcustomers.Buttheyweresurprisednotonlybythequalityofthecourse,butalsobytheChineseworkethic.
ForJaffu,whathewillcontinuetocherishisthehardworkingspiritoftheChinese,especiallythecommitmentgiventoaprojectwhentheywanttoachievesomething.
“IhavewitnessedhowChinahasmanagedtoprovidefoodforitscitizens,”saidJaffu,addingthatwhereasagricultureisnotalwaysapriorityinmanycountries,inChina,itistopofthegovernment’sagenda.
“Ifacountryhasenoughfood,itbecomeseasyforitseconomytogrowbyproducingvalueaddedgoods,”hesaid.
Jaffusaidasanexperiencedfarmerandentrepreneur,thetraininghasgivenhimanopportunitytoincreaseprofitsfromhisagribusinessthroughvalueadditionincropssuchascassava,whichisinhighdemandinthepharmaceuticalindustryandforproducingadhesives.Jaffu,however,calledforhisgovernment’sassistancesothatSMEscanfulfilltheirambitions.
“ThereisaneedforextensivegovernmentsupportandpracticalpoliciesthatneedtobeimplementedinareasofirrigationandmechanizationforMalawianfarmers,whohaveusedthehoeforalongtime.”
“JustliketheChinesefarmers,Malawiansarehardworkers.Alltheyneedishelptobeinnovativeanddedicatedthroughtechnologicaladvancements.Thiscanonlyhappeniftheyaregivenopportunitiestogoandlearnwhatothersaredoing,aswasthecasewithus,”saidJaffu.
Healsosaidhehasbecomemoreawareoftheneedforself-disciplineinmanyareas,includingfinancialwhich,henowknows,iskeytobusinessandeconomictransformation.ForKapondamgaga,herplanistoimplementlessonsshelearnedonoperationstrategy,taxplanning,marketingandfinancialmanagement.
“Throughthetrainingandknowledgeobtained[inChina],Ihavealsocomeupwithotherideaswhichwillhelpfurtherthegrowthofmybusinesses.Also,somepeoplehavealreadyapproachedmetolearnnewbusinessskillsandIamreadytohelpthem.ThetrainingwasaneyeopenerformeandIwouldliketothanktheMalawianGovernmentforaccordingmeanopportunitytostudyandlearnnewbusinessskillsinChina,”shesaid.
Ongovernmentintervention,KapondamgagasaiditisanecessityasithasworkedwellinChina.
Shesaid,“TherearesomepoliciesthattheChineseGovernmentisdeliberatelyimplementingtosupporttheirSMEsandifthegovernmentofMalawicanalsodothesame,small-scalebusinessescanboom,which[inreturn]canhelpgrowtheeconomy.”
AccordingtoKapondamgaga,thepoliciesincludehavinggoodinfrastructure,areasonabletaxstructure,reliableenergyandareceptivemarket.ShecitedtheexampleoftheChineseGovernmentestablishingacreditguaranteesystemforSMEsandalsoprovidingtaxincentives,suchastaxreductionstoencouragetheestablishmentandgrowthofSMEs.
“InChina,thecostofproductionislowercomparedtomanyothercountries.Ifwecanhaveasimilarsituationinourcountry,SMEscangrow,”shesaid.
KapondamgagasaidsincereturningfromtraininginChina,shehasimprovedhercompany’sfinancialmanagement,sayingthatinthepast,shewouldsellhergoodswithoutacostingconfiguration.
“InowknowwhatIhavespentonthegoodsandtheprofitIwillgetaftersellingthem.Iamalsoexpectingtoexpandmybusinessbecausethingsarebetternowthanbefore,”shesaid.
Governmentintervention
TheMinisterofIndustry,TradeandTourismHenryMussasaidMalawiisonthepathtocreatingbusinessenterprises,especiallytargetedattheyouth,whichwillresultinthegrowthoftheeconomy.
“Oneofthesepathsistheestablishmentoftechnicalcolleges.Butbearinginmindthatthelabormarketislimited,weencouragepeopletoopen[theirown]businesses.SothetriptoChinawastoexposesomeoftheSMEstowhatandhowadvancedcountriesmanage[thesebusinesses],”hesaid.
MussapointedoutthatgovernmentestablishedcollegeswheretheyouthandSMEownerswillbetrainedinvariousbusinessandvocationalskills,andthiswillultimatelyputmoneyintotheirpocketsandalsoimprovethecountry’seconomy.
“Again,iftheyneedadditionalmoneytoexpandtheirbusinesses,governmentwillprovidethemwithsoftloans.Allinall,wearethereforthembecausetheyhaveshownthattheyareimportantsincemostofthememployotherpeople,”saidMussa.
Mussasaidthegovernmentisawarethattherearesomepeoplewhoarewillingtoengageinbusinessactivities,buttheylacktechnicalskillsandhenceitsinterventiontoassistthemwithbasicknowledge.
“Youmayhavethewillandcapitaltostartabusiness,butyoualsoneedtounderstandhowitisrun,[withknowledge]aboutfinancialmanagementandtaxation.Itisourdutyasgovernmenttocomein[andassist],andthatiswhywesentsomeSMEstoChinatobetrainedintheseareas,”hesaid.
**ReportingfromMalawi
***Commentsto
ChinahasanagreementwiththeMalawianGovernmentthroughtheMinistryofIndustry,TradeandTourismtosendentrepreneurstoChinaeveryyearforspecialtraining.”
TapiwaNsanjaPublicRelationsOfficerofSmallandMediumEnterpriseDevelopmentInstituteofMalawi