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BUSINESS PROFILE

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Contents

1 Executive Summary

2 Section One: Values

3 Section Two: Program objectives

4 Section Three: Programs Offered

5 Section Four: Group Structure

6 Milestones

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Midpoint Centre of Entrepreneurship (Pty) Ltd is an accredited training institution

(ETP0100) incorporated with the main purpose of assessing, training and nurturing

entrepreneurs, thereby creating much needed sustainable employment in Southern Africa

and globally.

Our program include interactive training in financial and management accounting,

taxation, resources management, corporate governance, business math and practical

aspects of establishing a business.

Our training program is geared towards educating and building entrepreneurial

knowledge in the process of facilitating the establishment and management of an

operational enterprise.

MISSION

To convert entrepreneurial intentions from a pool of potential entrepreneurs, in the midst

of all the entrepreneurial framework conditions, into sustainable established business

ownerships.

The main aim is to create sustainable jobs.

To assist businesses to get their presence in the competitive economic market with the

aim of growing their products or services, thereby ensuring sustainable business

ownership and leadership.

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SECTION ONE: VALUES & FOUNDATION

VALUES

To foster the Spirit of excellence

To promote diversity, respect and equal opportunities for all

To communicate our knowledge and learning to all

Transparency and Integrity

To add Value

FOUNDATION

To holistically practice the principles of the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob

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SECTION TWO: PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

OBJECTIVE OF THE MIDPOINT ENTREPRENEURIAL PROGRAMME

The overall objective of the Midpoint’s Entrepreneurial Programme is two-pronged:

Train nascent entrepreneurs in the critical business acumen. This could be misunderstood as just a “Management Programme”, yet it is the core of any business.

We cover this aspect through the disciplines of Financial and Cost and Management Accounting, Taxation, Corporate Governance, Resource Management and

Business Maths.

Practically assist the nascent entrepreneur in physically establishing the desired business; from conception through to the opening of doors for trading: We cover

this aspect through the analysis of the business concept, drafting of the business plan, marketing research, registering the business, sourcing of funding, setting up

the business infrastructure (business layouts, capex and working capital), seeking out incubation facilities where necessary, aftercare services, expo visits, stock

exchange visits, etc. This process is what most entrepreneurial training institutions call an “Entrepreneurial Programme”. They ignore the business acumen part of

the whole entrepreneurship. Hence the failure of most businesses within three years of their existence.

After the training period of about six months, the nascent entrepreneur will have an established business. Any other outstanding issue(s) after this training would probably

be of a technical nature that could require some time to resolve. No trainee will be trained by Midpoint if they don’t have a business concept upfront. We don’t train job-

seekers. We train those who want to be entrepreneurs because at the end of the training they WILL be entrepreneurs, with a viable business to operate (Mutatis Mutandis).

The trainee intake per six-month cycle is limited to 50 to enable us to give each nascent entrepreneur the necessary individual attention.

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SECTION THREE: PROGRAM OFFERED

Legislative framework Accounting Concepts Bookkeeping Financial Statements (FS):

Sole Trader Partnerships Companies

Costing Concepts Costing Systems Budgeting and Budgetary Controls

Legislative Framework Taxation Concepts Taxable Income General Deduction Formulae VAT

Legislative Framework Management Responsibilities Audit Compliance Commercial Law Basics

Human Resources / Labour Law Managing Information / IT Marketing the product / service Reconciliations Analysis and Interpretation of financials Break-even analysis

Business plans, entity registration, etc.

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BUSINESS ACUMEN Basic Financial Accounting Basic Cost and Management Accounting

Scope:

Legal framework

Capital Structure – sources and methods of accounting of liability

Elements of financial statements – Statement of Comprehensive Income, Statement of Financial Position Statement of Changes in Equity Cash Flow Statement

Processing of financial data

Accounting adjustments

Trial Balance

Preparation of Annual Financial Statements

Third party accounting

Outcomes:

Acquire the basic knowledge of the accounting reporting requirements in terms of the International Financial Reporting Standards and the relevant Companies Act

Acquisition of knowledge on how to accurately and completely record financial data for different types of entities

Acquisition of knowledge on accurately and legally reporting financial data to stakeholders

Sharpen the nascent entrepreneur’s mind through the acquisition of accounting knowledge to be able to make sound strategic business decisions

Acquire knowledge to be able to Lead and Support Strategic Execution

Scope: Retail Environment:

Identify and apply different product costing methods

Preparation of financial budgets and performance measurements

Preparation and interpretation of management reports

Inventory controls – resource control

Make informed management and financial decisions Manufacturing Environment:

Understand and apply the different product costing methods

Setting production budgets: Sales budgets Raw material budgets Labour costs budgets Overheads budgets

Monitoring performance – variance analysis; taking corrective action

Inventory management

Supply chain costing and management

Product quality management

Preparation of management reports

Business decision making – models: cost-volume analysis; break-even analysis etc.

Outcomes:

Provides Clarity and Quantification of the Product / Service to be provided.

Manufacturing Process: 1. Acquisition of the knowledge of how resources required in the

manufacturing process are to be allocated, how to allocate the available (limited) capital for maximizing returns,

2. Acquisition of knowledge on how to cost a job or product; to control costs, eliminate wastage and maximize profits

3. Acquisition of knowledge on how to use the decision-making tools to make informed business decisions

Retail environment: acquisition of knowledge on how to price the product / service based on the cost of product inputs or resources required to provide a service

General: a. Acquire knowledge on how to source, cost and manage the supply chain

environment, from factory to the customer b. Acquire knowledge on how to control inventory c. Acquire knowledge on how to prepare the various budgets necessary to

effectively manage the business

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Basic Taxation Corporate Governance

Scope:

Legal framework: Income Tax Act as amended

Basis of taxation

Income tax for Individuals and Partnerships: Taxable income, allowable deductions

Taxation of Companies: Taxable income, allowable deductions, capital allowances, withholding taxes

Capital Gains Tax (if any)

VAT, Transfer Duty

Tax Administration: tax returns, dates, penalties, appeals etc.

New tax developments

Outcomes:

Acquire basic knowledge on the compliance provisions of the relevant Income Tax Act

Knowledge of how to prepare the requisite income tax returns

Knowledge of how to account and report on Value Added Tax

Knowledge on how to account and settle third party withholding taxes (PAYE, Dividends etc.)

Scope:

Legal framework – Companies Act (or relevant acts, regulations or directives)

8 Elements of good governance

Legal Roles and Responsibilities of management (Directors)

Corporate governance principles

Integrated Reporting

Social Responsibilities

Auditing - Internal & External

Risk management

Outcomes:

Acquire basic knowledge of the relevant Companies Act provisions

Acquire knowledge of running the business in a transparent, responsible and fair manner

Acquire knowledge of how to prepare informative reports to stakeholders (Integrated Reporting)

Acquire skills in internal controls within the business

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Resource Management

Operations Management: Scope:

Product design

Quality planning & Control

Capacity planning

Inventory planning

Supply chain planning

Human Resources: Scope:

Legal framework – labour laws

HR Planning – strategies & policies

Recruitment and Selection

Human Resources Development

Performance Management & Rewarding

Health, Safety & Welfare of the workforce

Information Technology:

Scope:

Impact on business

IT Policies

Cost of IT

Choosing an IT system

Components of an IT system

Using IT: reporting, e-commerce etc.

Disaster Recovery

Outcomes:

Knowledge of the legal requirements in managing people

Develop leadership skills

Develop skills in the choice of the IT resource and its usage in a business environment Develop Resource allocation skills

Acquire basic knowledge on how to design a product, approve, manage the production process and check the quality of the final product Acquire the basic knowledge on how to leverage the IT resource in the marketing process

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Business Math

Scope:

Interest and cost of capital calculation

Depreciation calculations

Analysis and Interpretation of financial statements

Mark-ups and Mark-downs – determination of “for sale” or “discount” prices etc.

Bank reconciliations and other reconciliations (stock, debtors, creditors etc.)

Outcomes:

Develop skills in interpreting financial information for informed business decisions

Develop skills in marketing a product or service

Sharpen skills in internal controls though various strategic reconciliations

Develop the skill in making informed investment decisions

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Practical Aspects

This part of the entrepreneur training takes place in most part outside the normal class situation. This is where the nascent entrepreneur

actually physically prepares to operate a business. Keep in mind that each trainee will have to have a preconceived business concept before

enrolling at Midpoint, i.e. they would already have made up their minds to be entrepreneurs in a particular industry. Midpoint will then assist

them make the business concept a reality. They will have to be able to answer the following questions:

What am I selling? Who are my customers? Where is my market?

While acquiring the business acumen knowledge, part of the training hours will be spent on practically implementing the undermentioned

crucial aspects of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurial Interface

Scope

Business Concept Inception

Intellectual Property Protection

Outcomes

Concept vetting through interviews and

reviews for viability and impact on the national

economic development strategies.

Protect business concept from intellectual

property theft and hence harness confidence in

the programme.

Overall objective:

At the end of the training period, each nascent entrepreneur will have a registered business ready for

operation

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Market Research

Business Registration

Scope

Product/service needs assessment

Industry identification – retail,

manufacturing, export-orientation

Customer – trends, competitors, product

differentiation

Outcomes

Nascent entrepreneur to know the

product/service the consumers need

Knowledge of industry or market to

service

Each nascent entrepreneur to

understand their customer base

Knowledge of the competitors

Scope

Register intended business with the

relevant authorities

Registration / affiliation with the

relevant associations or boards

Outcomes

Midpoint will assist the nascent

entrepreneur in registering the intended

business with the relevant authorities

and associations where necessary to

acquire legal status

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Business Planning

Business Infrastructure Planning

Outcomes

The nascent entrepreneur will be given the universally accepted business plan structure and be guided as to what each section entails.

The nascent entrepreneur will then have to construct their own business plan that will drive their own specific business. This will not just be a bankable document but a live document that will be used by the nascent entrepreneur in running the business in the achievement of the business’s Mission and Vision statements and Objectives.

The plans will be different in content depending on the type of business or service offered. Midpoint will evaluate, edit and review each individual plan as part of our quality control (in terms of our policies). The approval of the individual business plan by Midpoint will be part of the assessment process.

Financial plans will be reviewed by Midpoint for achievability.

Outcome

Midpoint will assist each entrepreneur in securing business premises/offices or incubation facilities and the necessary licenses / permits

Scope

Each nascent entrepreneur to prepare a business plan

for their desired venture, paying particular attention to

The Market Analysis

The Management Plan

The Product/Service development and

production plan

The Supply Chain Management Plan

The Sales and Marketing Strategy

The Information Technology Plan

The General Administration Plan

The Financial Plan

Scope

Secure trading premises (capacity planning)

Securing incubation facilities (where

necessary)

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Business Capitalisation

Customer Relations Management Plan

Outcomes Alternative funding methods will be explained to

each nascent entrepreneur. Funding requirements per business plan will be assessed by Midpoint for accuracy, adequacy, relevancy and affordability.

The best funding source and method will be chosen by the entrepreneur.

Outcome

Each Nascent Entrepreneur will learn the fundamentals of customer service and prepare a plan for his/her business

Scope

Capital expenditure – prioritisation

Operating expenditure – preliminary costs

Scope

Communicating with customers – get the right things

right

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SECTION FIVE: GROUP STRUCTURE

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Website:

www.midpointentrepreneurs.com