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Business training offered at the Barn


Johannesburg, 05 Mar 2009

The Western Cape provincial government has initiated a training programme for ICT entrepreneurs at Cape Town ICT incubator, the Bandwidth Barn.

The company says the programme will be introduced for its tenants. Courses will include project management, presentation skills, accounting and financial management, end-user computing, time management, performance management and business processes and strategy. Selected training providers with accredited courses include Bytes People Solutions, Analytix and CBM Training.

According to the provincial government, the training programme will build “a broader skills base and empower them to create sustainable businesses”. The drawing up of the programme follows a needs analysis which was conducted with tenants to establish their training requirements.

In 2008, the Bandwidth Barn received a three-year, R1 million sponsorship from Telkom, which was meant to improve its ICT infrastructure and enhance business support services. It is investigating introducing basic administrative, accounting and marketing services, as well as mentoring programmes.

Chris Vermeulen, GM of the Bandwidth Barn, stated the provincial Department for Economic Development and Tourism (Dedat) approached the company and suggested a training programme for its tenants.

“We find that ICT start-ups are usually technically very sound but they need support with the more administrative side of business. The Bandwidth Barn works hard to bridge this gap via our mentorship programmes, but the direct training provided by this programme is invaluable.”

Rahima Loghdey, director for workforce development at Dedat, states: “Dedat has an integrated approach to entrepreneurial development, as we have complemented our investment in the mentorship programme with funding training to sharpen the business acumen of the entrepreneurs.”

Related story:
Telkom sponsors Cape incubator

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