Small is beautiful this week

SMALL and Medium Enterprise (SME) owners, and women in particular, in search of advice and new marketing platforms are spoilt for choice this week.

In addition to the two-day Windhoek SME Expo kicking off tomorrow, several small business owners attended a Business Leadership and Sustainability Workshop held at the Polytechnic of Namibia yesterday and today.The workshop was hosted by Dr Sharon Freeman, president of the All American Small Business Exporters’ Association, an organisation dedicated to increasing the participation of minority, immigrant and women-owned firms in the global marketplace.Freeman emphasised the importance of marketing and implementing their corporate social responsibility frameworks.’Tell your consumers something about the product that is related to their country. It’s important to understand the country, and what is important to the citizens,’ she said when explaining how small businesses could become more competitive.Freeman is in the country as one of the invited guests of this week’s Namibian Women Summit.The summit, an annual event since 2007, boasts various workshops on topics such as finance management and business sustainability, and provides yet another opportunity for female entrepreneurs to draw motivation and inspiration from each other.ndapwa@namibian.com.na