Last Saturday was a beautiful day for 15 entrepreneurs that were drawn from Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within the health, agriculture and WASH Sectors across Sierra Leone as they were certified by the Sierra Leone Netherlands Business and Culture Council (SLNBCC) and the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM), University of Sierra Leone with a certificate of completion after 5-days of Intensive Training for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Sierra Leone.
The five days training which started on Tuesday 9th March and ended on 13th March 2021, brought together the best experts and lecturers in the field of Financial Reporting and Book Keeping, Online Presence Management, Communication Strategy, Access to Finance, Professional Pitching, Presentation, Packaging and Design of Products, Branding, Import and Export Requirements and Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) etc.
Dr. Oludolapo O. Akinyosoye-Gbonda, the Coordinator of Short Courses at the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM), University of Sierra Leone, whilst presenting the certificate to the entrepreneurs, admonished them to adhere and put into practice what they have been thought by various experts.
Dr. Gbonda further stated that the role of SMEs is key in the transformation of a nation’s economy and that the Short Course Unit at IAPM is always ready to train and build the skills of entrepreneurs in Sierra Leone.
On her part, the Project Manager of SLNBCC, Ms. Binta Jalloh, commended lecturers of IPAM for their relentless efforts in impacting knowledge to the participants.
Madam Binta disclosed that this is not the first training the Netherlands Enterprise Agency has sponsored in Sierra Leone adding that this is part of their activities to foster business relationship between Sierra Leone and the Netherlands underscoring that the training would help to promote mutual benefit between the two governments.
She cited that the SLNBCC has facilitated the award of scholarships to about 30 students who are presently pursing various courses in Holland highlighting that over the years, SLNBCC, with support from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, has organised trainings through SLIEPA for other SMEs in Sierra Leone.
The Project Manager also assured participants of their continuous support in promoting and increasing exports, imports, business services, tourism and investments between business and professional persons in Sierra Leone and the Netherlands.
Giving the vote of thanks, Mary Alpha from Nainda Agricultural and Trading Company expressed thanks and appreciation on behalf of all trainees for the impactful Business Management Training for SMEs in Sierra Leone reiterating that the training is very timely for them as SME Business Managers and Officers.
“The selected modules have helped to capacitate me for the market world amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The most interesting topics for me were Professional Pitching and Corporate Social Responsibility. These two topics enlightened me on how much profit and impact my company can make from proper management down to satisfying our customers and workers,” she maintained.
Mary Alpha further assured the organisers that they would put into practice all what they have learnt during the course of the training. The training was climaxed with the distributions of certificates to all participants.
