LEA assist entrepreneurs to access funding
Correspondent | Thursday May 11, 2017 14:28
This came out of the realisation that although there are many reasons for business failures, ranked high on the list is difficulty in accessing funding and lack of planning. Business planning does not only ascertain the viability of the business, but also provides a roadmap for the business, as well as a justification to seek loans from the financing institutions.
The Micro Enterprises that were assisted at the 13 LEA branches across the country included services such as business counselling and pre-screening; screening; and needs and gap analysis.
“Further analysis of the business idea is made at this point, and needs and gaps identified. LEA then recommends interventions that will be relevant to close the gaps, in order for the business to start,” reads a statement from LEA.
In addition, the LEA Team at various branches coached the entrepreneurs to complete their business plans before submission to the Gender and Youth Departments for funding.
Furthermore, the entrepreneurs were recommended to attend basic training on business planning, record keeping, Entrepreneurship Development Training (EDT) as well as sales and marketing. All the four courses are offered by LEA.
The Gender Department and YDF beneficiaries were also offered the Business Development Kit, which is an information pack specifically developed to assist the businesses with all the relevant information needed to start and operate an enterprise.
The kit contains information and forms of various institutions that are necessary and must be completed by the business promoter. Included in the kit are guidelines, forms and information from the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA), Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS), Financiers/Banks and the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB).
LEA says it believes that pre-counselling, screening and needs analysis services are very important to the SMMEs before funding, as these help improve the chances of prudent loan utilisation, thereby ensuring business growth.
As LEA registered clients, SMMEs benefit from handholding by LEA experts and receive targeted interventions/solutions that are aimed at closing the identified gaps and move their enterprises forward.
The Authority has thirteen branches and four incubation centres where entrepreneurs are capacitated and offered targeted interventions that enable them to start and grow sustainable businesses.