“A vision on its own is not enough. Hard work and
dedication is required to make that vision a reality.”

Strive Masiyiwa, Econet Wireless, Zimbabwe

“In terms of expansion, I strongly believe in organic
growth as there is nothing more motivating or satisfying…
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to dream big, but start small.”

Zainab Ashadu, Zashadu Bags, Nigeria.

“Businesses that are spoilt with too much capital
make the wrong decisions… Constraints are the
most wonderful things in business, because constraints
allow you to be innovative and come up with
different solutions.”

Michael Jordaan, MonteGray Capital, South Africa

“I believe we can create new opportunities for
[SMEs] by linking them up with larger enterprises,
through industry clusters. Since a large number of
employers in the [SMEs] sector are informal
family-owned businesses, they can be trained to
become more proficient through various
capacity building initiatives.”

Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the National Committee on Job Creation, Nigeria

“Africa is a youthful continent that is plagued by a
high unemployment rate, particularly amongst Millennials.
Entrepreneurship has long proven to be the best
alternative to bettering one’s life. Building a
business that not only progresses the entrepreneur,
but also the community that the business operates
in, is the greatest solution to reducing
unemployment in any economy.”

The Motsepe Foundation, South Africa.

NEWS

All About SME's9 Different Finance6 SME Support Centre20 Uncategorised8

SME TradeLinks Goes International

29 Oct 2020

#SMETradeLinks is proud to have been contracted by #BDO_UK to design and deliver a tourism training programme for Business Development Services Providers (BDSPs) in the beautiful mountain kingdom of #Lesotho. The training programme which took place from 26th to 27th October 2020 in #Maseru is part of the Economic Diversification Support Project (#EDSP) initiated by the Lesotho Government and supported by…

SADC 2nd Regional Connect: Program Closeout

16 Aug 2020

The #SMMEs operating in the #Health, #Education, #Agriculture and #Tourism (#HEAT) sectors that have been selected from various #SADC countries by the Southern African Innovation Support Programme (#SAIS) and the Research Institute of Innovation and Sustainability (#RIIS) to participate in the second Regional Connect project are graduating this week (17-21 August). Regional Connect is a…

UNWTO Video Features SME TradeLinks CEO

9 Jul 2020

I had the privilege last week to have been invited by the #UNWTO to participate as a panelist in a webinar on rebuilding confidence among tourism consumers and businesses in Africa. Grateful for this invitation that has allowed me to share my views and learn a great deal from fellow panelists. #COVID19 has certainly exposed…