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Entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe have been urged to come up with strategic budgeting initiatives to meet the demands of the global market.
Speaking at a business workshop held in Harare yesterday, Open Learning Centre chairman Mr Shuaib Masters said budgeting has been a major impediment to the success of upcoming entrepreneurs.
“Collaboration is the way to go for different upcoming businesses and it takes transparency for these collaborative partnerships to bear fruit. Therefore, strategic budgeting initiatives should be put in place since upcoming entrepreneurs form the basis for the future economic growth of Zimbabwe,” Mr Masters said. He also said local companies should come up with unique sources of competitive advantage in order to dominate the local and international markets.
“The global markets have become so competitive to the extent that it takes aggressive thinking and marketing to beat the pressure. Merchandising efficiency and sustainable core competence initiatives have to be part of every entrepreneur’s strategic plan.
“Upcoming entrepreneurs should diversify in terms of production of their products, because the market is still dominated by giant companies, therefore to meet the heights, upcoming entrepreneurs have to diversify,” he said.
Speaking at the same event, a visiting British-based lecturer and accountant, Professor Bob Greenwood, said access to loans and other financial assistance from banks and Government is essential because the capacity of upcoming entrepreneurs in economic development should not be underestimated.
“Small business’s potential to drive the economy lies on the willingness of the Government and banks to provide loans. Government should create lines of credit which will enable businesses to develop and also create infrastructure that will ensure efficiency and viability of these small businesses,” Professor Greenwood said.
When getting into business partnership with big corporates, upcoming entrepreneurs should be able to analyse the financial position of a business, stability and also the company’s exposure to risk.
“Most small businesses sometimes end up running losses by engaging themselves into partnerships without analysing situations first. Therefore, this can be analysed by considering the way business is structured and financed and then go into a business partnership,” he said.
The workshop was held to develop forecasting and budgeting for upcoming entrepreneurs as well as creating an awareness of how to make strategic decisions rationally in a dynamic environment.
The delegates at the workshop came up with the solution that for the small businesses to grow they need to have collaborative partnerships as well as taking a global approach in executing their respective businesses.
Online Reporter