Staff Reporter- 15 June 2023

The Marketing Community Scholarly Engagement Team comprising of two Senior Lecturers from the Vaal University of Technology (VUT)’s Marketing, Retail Business and Sport Management (MRS) department, recently conducted a township-based business entrepreneurs training session at the Isak Steyl Stadium.

The training was a collaboration between MRS, the VUT Business Clinic and the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP), which amongst others, is tasked with the responsibility to promote entrepreneurship, mobilise resources and facilitate an integrated approach to entrepreneurial development and support within the province. Attended by local Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) business owners that affiliated with the GEP, the training is part of a community engagement initiative aimed at transferring marketing-related skills to upcoming small businesses in and around the local communities to grow into successful and sustainable businesses.

Facilitating the session, the three lecturers: Mr Thebe Magapa, Dr Manti Motale and Dr Lehlohonolo Masitenyane, covered an array of topics ranging from strategic marketing to the importance of customer service and bridging the gap within marketing services. Furthermore, the participants had an opportunity to engage with each other with the help of the facilitators to identify the best business practices covered during the sessions.

In addition to giving back to the community, the trio emphasised that the training is also aligned and underpinned by one of the University’s strategic pillars of Socially Engaged Scholarship. Over the years, VUT has embarked on an initiative of embedding the scholarship of engagement through which relations amongst scholars, academics and communities are fostered through reciprocal and mutual learning for the benefit of social humanity.

At the end of the interactive session, the delegates and facilitators agreed to continue engaging with each other and visiting the different businesses as part of continued support and mentorship. This project is expected to run for the entire year with the aim of continuously keeping abreast of how the SMEs are progressing in implementing some of the suggestions and key takeaways drawn from the training.

Congratulations to the MRS team for their tireless efforts.