Around 20 enthusiastic entrepreneurs are attending a four-day seminar on "Managing a Small Firm," hoping to get new ideas on ways to further run their businesses successfully.

Launched on Monday, the seminar is being coordinated by SIDEC (Seychelles Industrial Development Corporation) and has attracted support from major companies like the Seychelles Development Bank, (DBS), AirTel, Helicopter Seychelles, SACOS (State Assurance Corporation of Seychelles) Amusement Centre and others. 

The seminar, which ends on Thursday October 10, is taking place at the National House.

According to the managing director of SIDEC, Mr Maxwell Julie, a good number of entrepreneurs starting a small and medium business have the misguided conception that the knowledge of the trade alone was sufficient for them to operate their own businesses. But, all signs indicated that once they got started, many of the small and medium entrepreneurs found themselves dealing with common business issues such as accounting, insurance, production planning, quality control, taxation and if they were employing staff, they discovered how unfamiliar they were with labour laws or related regulations, whereas if they were dealing directly with customers, they did not know how to react, for instance, to criticisms or complaints, Mr Julie observed.

SIDEC, Mr Julie told Business Nation, had noted these problems during the after-care services it provided, especially to entrepreneurs who had benefited from the Youth Entrepreneurial Scheme (YES) or European Union (EU) scheme and following complaints it received from certain employees.

Expressing his satisfaction with the turn-out and support given by bigger companies, Mr Julie said the seminar was a good opportunity for the start-up businesses and for those entrepreneurs still finding it difficult to cope with certain business practices, to grasp the principles and knowledge of business management.

"The seminar is covering all important aspects governing the daily running of a business," the MD said, adding, "entrepreneurs who want to be successful cannot brush aside or leave out any one of these aspects."

The entrepreneurs attending the workshop are learning the importance and role of leadership skills, business communication, financial and management accounting, marketing research, general insurance, taxation regulations, customer care, labour laws and regulations, stock control and store management.

SIDEC has also said it is satisfied with the number of local experts who have responded to come and deliver the different lectures. This is the second such seminar that SIDEC organises on business management. In the past, the organisation responsible for the development of small and medium businesses had been hosting such seminars with the support of consultants from Mauritian-based SMIDO (Small and Medium Industrial Development organisation).

"We are currently reviewing the programme we have with SMIDO, but in the meantime, SIDEC is extremely happy that such a comprehensive seminar is being run entirely by local experts," he told Business Nation.  

Other entrepreneurs who have not had the chance to participate in this week's seminar can always enrol in SIDEC's courses at the Seychelles Institute of Management (SIM) at Majoie.

Throughout this month the organisation is hosting its Management Level 2 course, which is being held every Saturday.

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