SME business forum starts at Gobabis

A SMALL business forum aimed at empowering the local community with meaningful information on business development, started at Gobabis yesterday.

The event also offers the local business community an opportunity to interact with a range of officials from various institutions who are able to provide the necessary and relevant information. The two-day forum, organised by Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) and Small Business Information Centre, is one of the quarterly workshops done in a bid to assist the development of small and medium business enterprises (SMEs).This weekend’s forum will hold discussions on issues related to the potential for SMEs in Omaheke region, the challenges related to importing from and exporting to Botswana, as the nearest neighbouring country, specific opportunities for entrepreneurs in and around Gobabis with a specific view to agriculture.The theme for the forum is SME development through better planning and it’s main topic is “loans, exports, marketing and other support – essential for businesses to grow”.JCC national coordinator, Peik Bruhns said the business forums have been running for four years and support for the initiative was growing hence the need to take run forums all over the country, which initially were done only in Katutura.”What we do (through the forums) is address burning issues with small businesses on a pragmatic level…we also provide a link between decision makers and people at the grassroots,” said Bruhns.The meeting will also cover a variety of topics, including ICT and the impact of SMEs on the Namibian economy, which participants would work on.The two-day forum, organised by Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) and Small Business Information Centre, is one of the quarterly workshops done in a bid to assist the development of small and medium business enterprises (SMEs).This weekend’s forum will hold discussions on issues related to the potential for SMEs in Omaheke region, the challenges related to importing from and exporting to Botswana, as the nearest neighbouring country, specific opportunities for entrepreneurs in and around Gobabis with a specific view to agriculture.The theme for the forum is SME development through better planning and it’s main topic is “loans, exports, marketing and other support – essential for businesses to grow”.JCC national coordinator, Peik Bruhns said the business forums have been running for four years and support for the initiative was growing hence the need to take run forums all over the country, which initially were done only in Katutura.”What we do (through the forums) is address burning issues with small businesses on a pragmatic level…we also provide a link between decision makers and people at the grassroots,” said Bruhns. The meeting will also cover a variety of topics, including ICT and the impact of SMEs on the Namibian economy, which participants would work on.