Visa has announced the expansion of Practical Business Skills, to help Small and Micro Business (SMB) owners to grow their businesses. The Practical Business Skills is a global digital platform that delivers educational resources to help small businesses. The resources are available in English for SMBs in Kenya, as well as in Arabic, French and Spanish to increase global accessibility.
The education website created by Visa comes in the midst of the current economic crisis that has impacted millions of SMBs locally. This will provide tools for SMB owners to aid in keeping their businesses afloat and to identify opportunities for potential growth amidst the situation.
A study conducted in 2016 by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KEBS) showed that there were 1.56 million licensed SMBs and 5.85 million unlicensed businesses in both formal and informal sectors in Kenya. Globally, SMBs account for more than 90% of global businesses and are the source of 50% to 60% of global employment.
With more than 50 online learning modules, the Practical Business Skills platform addresses the needs at various stages of the business lifecycles:
- Starting a business – with tools for prospective entrepreneurs to understand and evaluate the steps involved in opening, financing, running and marketing a company.
- Managing a business – with information on day-to-day business management, including templates for financial and cash flows analysis, and resources to promote sales.
- Building and growing – with tactics on how to drive businesses into a more profitable long-term success.
Visa continues to commit to providing resources that enable SMBs to grow and bounce back from COVID-19. As a company that enables digital payments at nearly 70 million merchant locations around the world, Visa’s priority is to help SMBs thrive at every step.
Corine Mbiaketcha, General Manager for Eastern Africa at Visa said, “SMBs are the backbone of Kenya’s economy. It is crucial to empower SMB-owners with knowledge, skills, and access to services that support them in rebuilding -or starting- stronger, digitally enabled businesses.”