GEORGE NEWS - George Business Chamber has done groundbreaking work in conducting training workshops for entrepreneurs over the last four years.
In 2017, the training was with the support of the Belgian government and non-governmental organisation Trias.
Last year a total of 100 people were trained in George, Thembalethu and Uniondale.
This year, the Trias programme will expand to train a total of 360 business people in the Southern Cape.
The course material developed by the George Business Chamber has also been deployed at other chambers throughout South Africa through the Trias PEERS II programme.
At the first George Chamber Business networking evening of the year, held last week at the George Golf Club, the president, Dr Willie Cilliers, said this year the emphasis would be on developing entrepreneurship in the Southern Cape.
As the guest of UNIZO, the Belgian Chamber of Commerce, Dr Cilliers last year witnessed first-hand that his European counterparts see entrepreneurship as a fully fledged career and this approach has gone a long way to eliminating unemployment.
An excited Cilliers said that this way of thinking should be inculcated here as it is of utmost importance to stimulate our Southern Cape economy through a growing business sector.
In an upbeat mood at the first George Business Chamber networking evening are, from left: Dr Willie Cilliers (chamber president), Etienne van der Westhuizen (Cloud Connect GM ) and Suzanne Stark (Ukuwela Carpe Diem Occupational Therapist).
The Belgian government along with its business sector are partnering the non-governmental organisation Trias, who are jointly keen to see their success in business being incorporated in South Africa and the rest of the world.
For this reason Trias is financing the George Business Chamber training programme in our region up to 2020.
Trias is spread out over four continents and provides support to 145 organisations.
Trias also functions as a hub for international cooperation between enterprising people and facilitates knowledge exchange between equals, firm in the belief that the disadvantaged family farmers and small business owners they work with can make their own dreams come true.
Roll-out
During a PowerPoint presentation, Cloud Connect general manager Etienne van der Westhuizen said that this George-based company (a Herotel company established in 2004) has seen phenomenal growth in its roll-out of wireless technology as well as high-speed Fibre to the Business (FTTB) and Fibre to the Homes (FTTH) network.
ARTICLE & PHOTOS: PAULINE LOURENS, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
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