Buzz4Eve, an initiative launched in June by Rhiza Babuyile, in partnership with Experian, promotes entrepreneurship amongst women of all ages in the townships of Diepsloot and Orange Farm, and Welkom.
As part of this partnership, Experian employees provided financial literacy and credit awareness training to groups of female entrepreneurs affiliated to Buzz4Eve. “One of the most common challenges noted amongst the women entrepreneurs is the lack of financial skills and knowledge to get their business off the ground or to the next stage of growth,” says Prabashnie Moodley, head of human resources at Experian South Africa. “Secondary to these is the need to exchange knowledge and support with other entrepreneurs to build-up their business.”
Moodley shares the following advice with women entrepreneurs:
There are many benefits for maintaining a healthy personal and business credit reputation. This provides opportunity to access finance as lenders need to understand the entrepreneur’s credit behaviour – and ability to repay debt – before they are able to grant loans. Entrepreneurs who maintain a good credit reputation have a better chance of getting approval as these reports provide a detailed perspective on the individual’s payment behaviour. Take advantage of the free service provided by all credit bureaux as prescribed by the National Credit Act, giving consumers the right to access their credit report once a year at no cost.
“Access to finance remains one of the top challenges experienced by entrepreneurs. The ability to raise funds and attract the right type of customers to meet financial obligations - are fundamental to any business’ growth. We encourage entrepreneurs to be aware of what impacts negatively and positively on both their personal and business credit reports, and to make a habit of checking their credit profile regularly to ensure that it accurately reflects their circumstances”, ends Moodley.
