Year 2020, will go into History books as one year that has negatively shaken the whole world with Covid 19 and Lockdown –which has shown us flames and has caused a lot of people to lose their loved ones and employment while others have lost their businesses.
The most profitable thing to focus on now, is LIFE, to ensure that we stay alive by asking God to protect us and should maintain our safety by complying with Covid 19 protocols.
It is crucial that we appreciate life because without it, we’ll amount to zero and be non-existent. It is more important to grab life with both hands because as long as we are alive we can rise again, for no matter how many times we may fall, we will keep rising, against all odds.
In this article, I would like to encourage all those who have experienced a set – back, to be positive and look at starting afresh and taking into cognisance that most countries are not in need of more Job-seekers but rather looking for more Job-creators.
Albert Einstein once said, “In the middle of every difficulty lies an opportunity.”
The above statement is very true, we need to look and listen to what people or our communities are complaining about and should seek to find ways of meeting their needs. There are a lot of new companies that are doing well right now or have diversified and grown their business.
Most people miss out on business opportunities because they come in overalls while they expect them to appear in a suit and in high heels. There are also many business ideas that have died before they were born due to lack of funding, while there are so many other ways of getting started without funding or breaking the bank. There are many ways of killing a cat, let us look at other options below:
If your business requires funding, you can approach ‘Angel funders’ from family members and friends. If that fails, try other avenues like visiting government funding agencies (South Africa) that have been especially set–up to assist emerging businesses or start-ups.
One may visit the different offices physically or virtually (websites) for more information, on how they may assist you and find out about their requirements, to ensure compliance with them. The various agencies offer different assistance based on different needs such as, non – financial assistance, access to finance, investments or grants while others provide subsidies and pure loans with lower interest rates.
They also provide opportunities for market access. These offices are available nationally, in different provinces and regional municipalities:
• Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) • National Empowerment Fund (NEF)
• Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) • MP Tourism & Parks Agency (MTPA)
• National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) * South African Tourism (SAT)
• Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) • Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
· Dep. of Small Business Development (DSBD) • National Department of Tourism (NDT)
· Dep. of Economic Development & Tourism (DEDT) • Local & District Municipalities
The entire list above is designed to assist emerging, small and medium business. Many emerging businesses complain about not receiving assistance but the problem is, most of those complaining have usually not lifted a finger to seek information, they have not knocked on any door and they did not ask anyone for advice or assistance. With the above information, I encourage all those who are starting-up to google the listed agencies to find out how they can get assistance for their projects.
I truly believe that any business can be sustainable as long as it continues to be relevant and offer solutions to the challenges or problems.
“All businesses exist to solve problems for their clients” – Nomsa Mazibuko.
In our next article we’ll discuss businesses that can be started without funding.
By Nomsa Mazibuko – Author: Entrepreneur Awaken with a Drive