March 30, 2023 – WPDI’s Business training programs, known as the Business Bootcamp, are designed not merely as introductory courses, but also as vocational training initiatives that prepare participants for the world of business by raising their awareness on the different components crucial to business success and entrepreneurship. These programs are also a stepping stone for our business incubation facility, through which we offer talented graduates start-up capital and backstopping services to develop sustainable and viable ventures. Providing a platform for such opportunities in skills acquisition and business development can be transformative for communities that have long suffered from social instability, the threat of violence and a lack of economic development. Through our Business Bootcamp program, WPDI targets demographics that would otherwise have little sway over the development of their communities when it comes to income generation and of stable economic ventures, permitting communal, familial independence and peace.
Because knowledge is power, our program therefore places a strong emphasis on market research as one of the most strategic dimensions of business development. The rationale of market research is to support trainees to make educated decisions, for example, by scanning their environment and identifying available opportunities, using the available resources as they plan to launch a product before developing a budgetary strategy.
Market research provides a practical avenue for the trainees to interact with the owners and staff of businesses already in activity in the area of where the startup ventures hope to operate. It also provides opportunities to share insights with the target customers, and identify customers’ needs. All in all, this process allows the trainees to identify gaps that they can address.
In the Acholi Sub-Region, Uganda, a recent WPDI Business Bootcamp (February 2023) for women included such a component, with participants appreciative of the being given access to training that will deepen their understanding of entrepreneurship and maximize their potential as income earners in their communities. “I would like to thank the initiative for this practical session called market research. The session has made me get the required knowledge and skills that I need to manage and operate my business in goat rearing. I learned when to administer treatment to female goats and when not to administer treatment and the appropriate time for deworming the goat. I greatly love the practicality and the interactive experience of the field. Thank you WPDI!” said Christine Aciro from Paicho sub-county, Aswa County, Gulu District.
The main takeaway for these highly motivated trainees is to have gained a deeper understanding of how critical it is to know the market on which one aims to compete. We are very proud to have taken them through this exercise, the benefits of which will be with them throughout the development of their future business ventures.
This initiative is made possible thanks to the financial support of a foundation that wishes to remain anonymous.