Cape Town – In this week’s episode of #EntrepreneurCorner, guest expert Mishinga Seyuba Kombo from the Pick n Pay Enterprise Development Academy unpacks the procurement process for the retail and wholesale sector.
As an entrepreneur, before you become a vendor or supplier, it is important that you are properly regulated, which includes business registration and ensuring that your business is BEE compliant, says Kombo.
Kombo emphasises that the academy's goal is to ensure it sticks to what it knows best - and that is providing access to markets.
However, she adds the academy also realised that business owners sometimes struggle with cash flow management.
As such, she says the academy tries to bridge the gap by helping entrepreneurs who may be struggling to meet their obligations due to cash flow challenges.
This is done by linking them up with funders, such as the Small Enterprise Development Agency, known as Seda, the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa), or Department of Trade and Industry, and others.
WATCH last week's episode of #EntrepreneurCorner: Taking advantage of festive season buzz
Kombo says a benefit of being registered as a vendor with them is that if you've been doing business with the academy for six months or more, they pay you seven days early to ensure that you meet your supplier obligations.
WATCH this week's #EntrepreneurCorner episode here: