Reverend Francis Chipoya, a board member and pastor of the Kuku church in Lusaka, is responsible for managing a small grocery store in a deprived neighborhood in the capital city.
Through his operations basic staple groceries are sold to the local community.
He participated in the Lendahand SME Academy to professionalize his business, which started out of the necessity to feed his family. Before taking part in the Academy he was doing things on a “lucky base”, as he had no formal training on advertising or sales.
Francis was really satisfied with the new knowledge acquired during the Academy. “I have learnt a lot about businesses; all those things are quite new to me, even though I usually see adverts being played, it was not my nature to do them.” With this new knowledge Francis is planning to start a marketing campaign involving the use of posters and flyers to attract more clients to his grocery shop.
According to Francis the social inclusion is one of the strengths of the Academy.
“This Academy is not only for people who can read and write but also for illiterate people. That means that there is a broad base and this Academy is not only looking at people with resources but also at the poor, the vulnerable. They are taken into account so that they are all able to benefit from this.”
