What's Happening?

Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin

NEED HELP? QUESTIONS@FIA.ORG.ZA

become A FIA member TODAY
member login

Business hacks for smart SMEs

ARTICLE BY

  • Jason Mellow

SHARE THIS POST

South Africa’s hard-pressed SMEs need help to steady themselves on a growth path in the current economic climate. The good news: Help is at hand.

South Africans are famous for their ability to “make a plan”, overcoming obstacles by coming up with ingenious solutions that make use of things in unexpected ways. That agility is essential for the country’s SMEs, which have been battling severe headwinds for many years, and are now coping with disruptive loadshedding just as the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions seem to be receding.

Other headwinds include low economic growth for the past decades and, of course, recent hikes in the price of petrol. Another challenge is proliferating red tape – despite government promises, SMEs still have a lot to negotiate and navigate.

The danger is that SMEs are so busy working in their business that all too often, they don’t have time to work on their business. Time spent on developing websites, creating marketing campaigns or managing the company’s books detract from the business owner’s main focus which is to grow the business, and increase market share. As the pressure on micro and small enterprises has mounted, more and more organisations are making resources available to these business owners, to alleviate the many demands on their time.

In the first instance, there are specialized governmental and non-governmental organisations which offer advice and networking platforms. Added to which, private-sector financial services companies have developed services designed to help clients and potential clients become more successful. For example, certain banks offer not only products tailored for SMEs but also valuable financial advice. In similar vein, some insurers offer services to ease the burden on SMEs.

Take the case of Multi Dimension Shuttle Service, a scholar transport business. The company chose MiBusiness Assist, a business support service developed by MiWay to help clients reduce unnecessary operational costs, and is offered as a value-add as part of its business insurance offering. The Shuttle Service utilized the resources to develop its company logo, set up a website and Facebook page.

“We were clueless about what to do, she [the MiBusiness Assist service provider] took over and did everything for us,” says owner Esmerelda Maphike. “Once everything was up and running, we started getting calls; everything has gone digital so people noticed our website and Facebook page. We have definitely seen an increase in business leads and we may well need to expand our fleet in the near future. The fact that I didn’t have to pay for these services, or spend time doing it, helped me a lot.”

Among the MiBusiness Assist services on offer, SMEs can find help with tax and financial advice. Other services include legal; marketing; labour and financial advice; office and medical assistance; an IT helpdesk; and even support for license disc renewals and paying traffic fines.

The proof of the pudding

We understand that SMEs are often stretched thin in terms of start-up, marketing or operational, so, the MiBusiness Assist offering makes perfect sense for us. We want to contribute to a thriving entrepreneurship economy in South Africa, where more and more young people aspire to becoming employers, rather than employees. What this means is that big companies such as ours need to innovate solutions which alleviate barriers to entry for aspirant business owners.

In our view , SMEs are the engines of growth and job creation which our economy needs. Sometimes, all it takes is doing a bit of research to find the resources you need and to identify the right partners for your business – it might just be the jet fuel you need to take off, even in today’s challenging economy.

MiWay is a licensed non-life insurer and Financial Services Provider (FSP 33970). MiBusinessAssist is offered through an external service provider.Ts and Cs apply.

Subscriber Terms and Conditions

  1. APPLICATION OF TERMS
    • These terms and conditions (“Subscriber Terms”) apply to the subscription by any qualifying member of the South African Underwriting Managers Association NPC (“SAUMA”) to the services and benefits offered by FIA Services (Pty) Ltd (“FIA Services”) under the SAUMA affiliation arrangement (“Subscription”).

  2. NATURE OF SUBSCRIPTION
    • A Subscription under this arrangement:
      • does not constitute membership of FIA NPC;
      • does not confer any voting rights or governance participation in FIA NPC; and
      • is governed solely by the contractual relationship between the Subscriber and FIA Services.

  1. ELIGIBILITY
    • To qualify for the Subscription, the applicant must, at the time of application, be a current paid-up member of SAUMA.
    • FIA Services will verify the applicant’s SAUMA membership status with SAUMA prior to activation, and may re-verify such status periodically.
    • If a Subscriber ceases to be a paid-up member of SAUMA, the Subscription will correspondingly be terminated.
    • Applicants are required to authorise FIA Services to confirm their SAUMA membership status with SAUMA as part of the application process.

  1. SERVICES
    • The Subscription entitles the Subscriber to the following benefits:
      • Complimentary access to the FIA CPD Platform;
      • Complimentary access to the FIA Insight Magazine (digital edition);
      • Advertising opportunities on FIA platforms at a discounted rate of 15% (fifteen percent) off the prevailing published rates; and
      • Invitations to attend FIA Technical Webinars annually.
    • FIA Services reserves the right to update, vary or substitute the Services from time to time, provided that the overall value and nature of the benefits remain materially the same.

  1. FEES AND PAYMENT
    • The monthly subscription fee is R260.00 (two hundred and sixty rand) for up to seven registered individuals (Key Individuals and Representatives), and R36.00 (thirty-six rand) per additional registered individual thereafter, excluding VAT.
    • The Subscriber shall provide FIA Services with the required details of each individual to be registered under the Subscription for the purposes of activation and billing.
    • All fees are exclusive of VAT, which shall be charged at the prevailing statutory rate.
    • Subscription fees are reviewed annually in March and may be adjusted with effect from 1 April.
    • Any changes to the Subscription, including but not limited to the number of Representatives and Key Individuals registered under the Subscription, may only be effected once annually during the annual review period in March of each year, with such changes taking effect from 1 April.
    • Subscription fees shall be billed monthly in arrears, unless the Subscriber elects an annual billing cycle at the time of application.
    • The Subscriber shall ensure that all billing information (including contact details, authorised signatories and bank account details) is kept accurate and up to date.
    • Non-payment of subscription fees may result in suspension of access to the Services until such fees are brought up to date.
    • The Subscriber acknowledges and agrees that all subscription fees payable under these Subscriber Terms may be collected by way of debit order, which shall be processed by the holding company, FIA NPC (The Financial Intermediary Association of South Africa), on behalf of FIA Services. Payment to FIA NPC shall be deemed to constitute valid and sufficient discharge of the Subscriber’s payment obligations to FIA Services under these Subscriber Terms.

  1. ONBOARDING
    • Onboarding will be conducted as a Subscription with FIA Services under the SAUMA affiliation arrangement.
    • Onboarding will not confer FIA NPC membership status or any associated rights.
    • Onboarding is conditional on confirmation of the Subscriber’s current SAUMA membership at the time of application

  1. DATA PROTECTION
    • FIA Services will process all personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) as set out in our POPIA policies.
    • By subscribing, the Subscriber authorises FIA Services to confirm their SAUMA membership status with SAUMA and to process personal information for the purposes of fulfilling the Subscription.

  1. TERMINATION
    • The Subscriber may terminate the Subscription by giving FIA Services one calendar month’s written notice.
    • FIA Services may terminate the Subscription on one calendar month’s written notice, or immediately if the Subscriber breaches these Subscriber Terms and fails to remedy such breach within 14 (fourteen) days of receiving written notice.
    • Termination of the SAUMA–FIA Services affiliation agreement shall not automatically terminate these Subscriber Terms.
    • Termination by the Subscriber shall not relieve the Subscriber of liability for any subscription fees accrued up to the effective date of termination.
    • FIA Services may suspend or terminate the Subscription with immediate effect in the event of non-payment of fees by the Subscriber.

  1. GENERAL
    • These Subscriber Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.
    • Any disputes arising under these Subscriber Terms shall be dealt with in accordance with the dispute resolution provisions contained in the FIA NPC membership terms and conditions, as modified to reflect that the contractual relationship is with FIA Services.
    • Any notices required under these Subscriber Terms may be validly delivered by email to the addresses provided in the Subscriber’s application form, and such notices shall be deemed received on the day of transmission if sent during business hours.
    • The Subscriber may not assign, cede or transfer any of its rights or obligations under these Subscriber Terms without the prior written consent of FIA Services.
    • No variation of these Subscriber Terms shall be of any force or effect unless reduced to writing and signed by both FIA Services and the Subscriber.