British Airways boost for local SMEs

The economic downturn has resulted in business travel budgets being internationally slashed by more than 56 percent over the past year and South Africa has been no exception, with the airline experiencing a considerable contraction in corporate bookings.

Tough environment

“This is a really tough environment in which to do business and we're hoping that by offering 50 South African companies an opportunity that they wouldn't otherwise have had, we can help them open up new opportunities and start to reinvigorate business travel by demonstrating the benefits of doing business face to face,” said Sue Botes, British Airways commercial manager.

A recent Harvard Business Review study found that 95 percent of international businesspeople believe that face-to-face meetings are key to establishing and maintaining long-term relationships and 89 percent agree that these are essential to seal the deal.

Face-to-face meeetings

Alan Knott-Craig, one of the judges, said his experience bears this out: “The value of face-to-face meetings is incomparable and it's encouraging to see that British Airways is supporting SMEs through this difficult time, giving them a chance to expand into new markets.”

Nkhensani Nkosi, renowned South African entrepreneur and the founder of Stoned Cherrie, is also an advocate of the BA Opportunity Grants initiative. “SMEs are becoming increasingly important to South Africa's economy and development. British Airways Opportunity Grants initiative to give South African SMEs an opportunity to develop into new markets in this challenging economic environment will provide SMEs with a much-needed boost,” he said.

The Business Opportunity Grants are for registered companies with 250 employees or less. Entries can be made online at www.ba.com/safrica-grants and applicants will need to outline their objectives for 2010 and how being awarded a grant would benefit their business.