ASISA Foundation’s FLAME comes to Garden Route

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BUSINESS NEWS - The Financial Literacy and Micro-Enterprise (FLAME) Programme by the ASISA Foundation has been of great benefit to more than 1 500 businesses in South Africa's township, peri-urban and rural communities.

The ASISA Foundation is a non-profit organisation that offers financial literacy programmes to South Africa's most vulnerable groups.

The FLAME Programme empowers entrepreneurs by teaching them how to manage their business finances, develop new business strategies and expand their businesses by accessing new markets.

Additionally, business owners are taught good personal and business financial habits that can help them achieve financial success.

This programme offers a combination of in-class training workshops, coupled with individual coaching to ensure the practical application of the learned concepts.

“The ASISA Foundation is thrilled to announce that the next FLAME cohort will be held in the Garden Route district. During a recent programme hosted in Hermanus, we observed an average growth of over 70% in both revenue and profits of the incubated businesses.

"Furthermore, the cohort was able to support over 130 jobs. We are excited at the prospect of empowering local SMEs to grow their businesses, which will not only stimulate the local economy, but also create more jobs within the Garden Route district,” says Sibusiso Sagoda, FLAME Programme manager.

As a programme tailored for grassroot entrepreneurs, the content and support provided is made relevant to their specific needs.

Inga Mfundisi, a former FLAME Hermanus participant said: “As someone who has only been in business for a year, I had a lot to learn and grasp.

"Through the programme I was able to learn more about financials of my business, how to really ensure that I am profitable in the long run and most importantly, be sustainable.

"I learnt about the compliance aspect as well, which I never knew about, such as registering on supplier databases and all the other necessary compliance that comes with owning a small business."

Applications to the programme opened on 3 June and close on 26 June.

Information sessions will be held in the following venues:

Mossel Bay information sessions (18 June)