Sunday, September 21, 2014

Some rough circumstances I've seen

It's been a while since I've last had the opportunity to post an article and not without reason. Some of the situations that I'm seeing in the business arena are giving me cause for concern. Without going into details here are a few:


  • A business owes some money to the government which is less than what the government owes them. Having applied for funding, they need to get clearance certificates so that they can access the funding. It doesn't help that a new revenue authority has been formed by the government so that the difficulty in obtaining a clearance certificate is intensified. The delay's are costing the business daily both in terms of financial opportunity and credibility. 
  • The youth are encouraged to get into entrepreneurship. The jump through all the required hoops and then when they now have a project that's ready for funding, it seems that the funding sources dry up or are unwilling to assist unless there is security in place. These young entrepreneurs are unable to navigate the systems despite the training to get the requirements met for the security. The result, frustrated entrepreneurs that can't find work nor generate employment with their projects; some of which had even won prizes in competitions. 
  • Businessmen are always told by financial institutions that they need to have business plans to obtain funding. They then take ill-affordable funds to have these said plans prepared by professionals often securing the necessary talent to give their business structure. The local entities then want to under-fund them or decline them all together. In instances where FDI [foreign direct investment] is available, the business is frustrated with the process since the red tape of compliance seems formidable to them. Where can one truly get support for their business' development?
It is fortunate that for some who seek professional help they are able to get by the hurdles albeit with effort. However, what about those who don't have the access either by choice or who are just unaware; shouldn't they have an opportunity to eek out a livelihood as well? Let's hope for solutions within the coming weeks and months that would mean a better work environment that creates employment and generates economic activity is forthcoming. 


Experiences from living remotely

  Long ago about 8 years before COVID-19 pandemic, I began working remotely. Online meetings, online ordering, just about everything that wa...