Wisynco/Coca-Cola partner on training programme for MSMEs

(L-R) Chairman of Wisynco Group Limited William Mahfood, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator Aubyn Hill and other stakeholders converse at the launch of The Growing Together with Small Business Training Programme on Thursday, October 5 (Photo: Contributed).

One thousand micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSMEs) business owners across Jamaica are set to benefit from resources in business management and ownership to aid in their overall growth and development.

This is being offered by the Wisynco Group, in partnership with Coca-Cola. The manufacturing and distribution giant officially launched its ‘Growing Together with Small Business Training Programme’ on Thursday (October 5),.

The four-module online course ,which was rolled out in August of this year and is set to run until February 2024, is geared towards helping MSMEs achieve better business results, thus increasing their revenues and profits.

Wisynco Group chairman William Mahfood, who spoke at Thursday’s launch held at its Lakes Pen Road headquarters in St Catherine, said MSMEs play a critical role in the ecosystem of businesses in Jamaica.

“As I toured in St Ann two days ago and I went to visit small, medium, and larger businesses, what I came to realise is that the eco-system that we have in Jamaica of businesses, the critical role of the micro and small enterprise in that ecosystem is what drives our economy…We have got to have a strong micro and medium enterprise and so Wisyncho’s role in building on that, which we will hear more about that later, is critical to the evolution of our economy and for the benefit of our Jamaica,” he said.

Mahfood said the programme is geared towards helping Wisynco small and medium-sized customers streamline their operations through learning so that they can expand their operations.

“We see this as beneficial to them, it helps to grow the economy but it help us as well because they’ll also be committed to Wisyncho and the efforts that we have put in to help them,” he added.

Wisynco is a distributor of the Coca-Cola Company in Jamaica after partnering with the global brand in 2006.

Coca-Cola brand manager at Wisynco, Chantellee McDonald, said she is pleased with the response to the programme since its launch in August.

“It’s actually been very good. We thought that we would have started a little bit slower but we have gotten such good feedback from everybody we have actually signed up. I think they didn’t know what to expect but now that they have actually done it they are surprised at how easy it is and how informative it is. When they hear of a programme, maybe they think school in the traditional way that is going to be hard but they found it very easy, very engaging and applicable to their everyday business so I think that’s probably one of the key benefits of it,” she said.

McDonald also explained that the programme can be completed in a 90-minute sitting, which makes it very flexible.

“The beauty of this programme is that it considers the needs of the small business owner with its flexibility. Our customers can complete the programme in a 90-minute sitting or they can start and return to the programme at their convenience. The platform has been open since August and will continue until February 2024. By then we hope to have had 1000 customers graduate from the programme. Now all customers and their employees of the MSMEs within the Wisyncho network are qualified to participate in the programme,” she said.

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator Aubyn Hill, who was also in attendance at Thursday’s launch, said the programme can yield multiple benefits not just to MSMEs, but the overall development of the country.

“What it means is that a company of the calibre of Wisynco is bringing the expertise that they and Coca-Cola can bring to a little district in St Elizabeth or St Ann to a man or woman who would generally not be exposed to this but once,you get exposed to this, you get exposed to digital payment. They have to use WhatsApp, they have to use a computer, they know how to order and from that it’s amazing how once you get involved in that your interest gets expanded and you say if I can do this with Coca Cola, who else can I do it with and the expansion of the mind happens,” he said.

“Jamaica then is better off and those individual people who now work for 10,000 of Wisynco’s business partners get their own knowledge and they grow their community, they hire people and they themselves leave where they work and start their own business and I hope they will become exporters in the process,” the minister added.

Wisynco customers can access the programme through The Growing Together with Small Business Training Programme Instagram page, or a digital poster that is shared by the Coca-Cola/Wisynco sales team.

https://our.today/wisynco-coco-cola-partner-on-training-programme-for-ms....

Source: Our Today

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