Program Duration

Having a fantastic product is no longer enough; a clear plan on how to make it available at the market place and beat competition is critical to the bottom-line. Also to be constantly relevant in the market place, entrepreneurs must understand the market dynamics and how his organization fits in. Topics such as the concept of marketing, the marketing mix, Market segmentation, Marketing Communications, Branding for Entrepreneurs, Developing a winning marketing strategy, selling techniques etc. This module helps to develop all these topics into a workable plan.

One of the greatest hindrances to SME funding and indeed growth is undoubtedly the inadequate keeping of Business records. Even when such records are kept, they are often not available in a format that helps the entrepreneur make quality decisions. Similarly, investors and funding organizations are not able to make meaningful conclusions with respect to the enterprise- thus denying the enterprise of the much-needed capital for growth. This module has been designed to be hands-on, at the end of which participants are expected to develop usable financial recording system for their firms and how this process can be automated and sustained.

For businesses to outlive its founder, the entrepreneur must learn how to transit his firm from an entrepreneurial to a professionally managed firm. His leadership qualities, the building of a strong management team and his ability to motivate his employees to buy into his vision are a few of the elements that makes the business outlives him. Apart from examining all these in this module, attention will also be given to the communication process.

One of the biggest challenges small enterprises face is that of short-term orientation. However, in order to be truly successful, organizations (especially small businesses) must think long-term. Strategies for growth has been designed to assist participants develop a conceptual framework for the planning process, build competitive edge to outperform competitors and above all, learn ways of effective implementation of these long-term plans. Computer-based strategy simulation will help participants sharpen their strategic planning abilities.

Many business concepts never go beyond the “Idea” stage. Even for functional businesses, they tend to lose focus during implementation. Developing a business plan helps participants to rigorously think through their business concept and develop a roadmap with specific milestones from the concept to the functional stage. This module will help entrepreneurs develop not just a business plan but unfolds what must be done for a successful implementation.