At the Hippo Lodge in Liwonde, Computer Clinic Limited held a boot camp for export-ready ladies from Monday, January 29, 2024, to Friday, February 2, 2024.
The workshop, which was conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Trade and the Private Public Partnership Commission (PPPC), was designed to give export-ready women entrepreneurs the digital know-how and resources they need to support the growth of their businesses internationally.
The Ministry of Trade’s Director of Trade, Patrick Machika, gave the keynote speech to officially open the training. Machika underlined the vital significance of Malawi’s involvement in international trade as well as the enormous potential for the nation to prosper through exporting its commodities to other markets.
Maureen Mahenge, a business development analyst, started the course with a focus on the nuances of branding and business profiling. Participants received insightful advice on creating memorable brand identities and successfully profiling their companies to increase market visibility. Ulalo Banda, a digital expert, led the group on a digital tour with an emphasis on social media profile optimization and registration. In order to fully utilize social media for marketing and brand development, participants actively created Facebook profiles for their own companies.
As the class workshop progressed, Sam Masikini, the managing director of Computer Clinic and an IT guru, gave the 23 women training and demonstrations on the digital assets they needed to create throughout the course, such as social network accounts, websites, and Google locations. Additionally, he gave them instructions on how to use social media accounts, establish a powerful online presence, and investigate digital marketing techniques. By the time the seminar ended, all of them had successfully set up their business accounts.
At the closing ceremony on the last day, Maureen gave a speech on behalf of Computer Clinic, thanking the organizers, the PPPC and the Ministry of Trade for giving the women the opportunity to receive training. She also asked them to continue arranging similar events, as many people are in need of these skills but are unable to access them or secure funding. She also expressed her gratitude to the participants for their diligence and for making the facilitators work extra hard by providing a dynamic audience.
A representative of the trainees, Mrs. Lucy Phiri, expressed her appreciation to the organizers and facilitators by mentioning how the session opened her eyes to the export industry’s use of digital marketing.
She had this to say, “I was just doing business blindly, but now that I have been equipped with digital skills and have opened my business online accounts, it makes it easier for me to interact with my customers wherever they are.”