I am your Business Development Officer, currently working at the Chemistry Incubator (Chemin), my role is to offer business development support, and training & development to SMMEs in their Start-Up and Growth phases. I am responsible for analyzing the value proposition of SMMEs by working with SMMEs to draft financially viable, and sustainable business plans, proposals, bookkeeping templates, record keeping tools, financial models, SWOT analysis, operational plans, etc. Assisting SMMEs in seeking out and applying for financial support from Government and other SMME support entities, while working with the SMMEs to prepare financial reports, identify and access markets, register on Supplier Databases, register with CIPC and SARS, file annual returns, and more. My job also involves offering skills training and development in bookkeeping, financial management, marketing, team building, conflict management, and risk mitigation to owners and employees of SMMEs. Prior to joining the incubator I worked as Research Assistant at the University of Venda for a duration of 2 years, where I also completed a Business Management Degree. In this role I was primarily responsible for collecting and capturing data on the street vending businesses. This included liaising with the municipality and the street vendors to foster mutually beneficial relationships as part of the research process. During the same period I was elected team Presidents of Enactus University of Venda, an NPO student programme with the mandate to engage in community development through use of entrepreneurial empowerment. In this programme I was tasked with leading the Enactus Univen team and its project portfolio, ensuring proper planning and implementation of a quality programme on-cumpus.