MTSTI conducts Business skills development workshops

The Business Skills Development and e-Business Incubators project, currently being implemented under the European Union funded ICT Development Programme under the auspices of MTSTI, has now completed three training workshops in Business Development with ICT-related enterprises in St Vincent and the Grenadines.{{more}} Attendance at the training sessions is mandatory for participants who have contractually agreed to attend all 10 modules delivered over a six-month cycle.

The first workshop focused on Business Planning and took place on 26th and 27th of June. The agenda included presentations on why and how a business plan should be prepared and what such a document should contain with specific emphasis on the preparation of financial data. At the end of the first day participants were asked to reflect on the discussions that took place and to prepare questions for submission via the internet to the Business Development Officer convening the workshop who would respond the following day to individual enquiries. This proved to be a successful approach and participants subsequently advised that they had been motivated to start preparing their own business plans.

The second workshop took place on 11th and 12th of August and focused on Financial Planning. These sessions expanded on the financial aspects of operating a business that had earlier been discussed during the initial Business Planning workshop in June. Formal presentations were made on how to prepare financial statements such as profit and loss accounts, cash flow statements and balance sheets, together with how participants could use such information to more effectively manage their respective businesses. In addition, a case study was presented to the participants who were asked to consider and comment on the implications for the company concerned. Following analysis of the case study, it was clear that participants recognised both the need and value of preparing financial statements. For the second day, participants were asked to prepare brief financial data on their own businesses for review on an individual basis by the Business Development Officer. This proved an extremely worthwhile exercise and participants left the session with a clearer idea as to why and how they could prepare financial documentation relative to their own business activities.

The third workshop relating to Marketing took place on 21st and 22nd of August and focused on the fundamentals of marketing, including market research, marketing strategies, SWOT analysis and marketing planning. This session was delivered by the project Business Development Officer, together with a marketing consultant from St. Kits who was engaged to provide participants with examples of how improved marketing techniques could make a significant difference to the performance of a business. These were lively sessions and covered a range of topics raised by participants looking for guidance on how to target customers more effectively, how to price products and services and how to promote them to potential customers. At the end of the workshop, participants felt better informed and more prepared to tackle real marketing-related issues.

Information related to the Business Development training programmes is available in our project office in the former Singer Building (now Centre for Enterprise Development), Ground Floor, Lower Bay Street, Kingstown, Saint Vincent, Tel: +1 784 529 7235.