LJ Louis (PTY) LTD
| Business Location: | Township |
| Province | Northern Cape |
| Branch: | Frances Baard |
| Business Start Date: | |
| Busniess Type: | Company |
Business Dynamics and Challenges
Business Activities:
Cultural beads and customized bead creations, paintings and personalized canvas printing, photo printing services paired with bespoke frames.
Challenges/Needs:
The business experienced operational challenges, not limited to accessing funding, market access with limited reach to a larger customer base and accessing corporate markets, Government Departments included. The other bottleneck was identifying the star products for clearer focus on high-demand products to streamline production of such products, ultimately leading to growth. In addition, there was no proper bookkeeping system, with limited financial management systems, making it difficult to track profitability and prepare for funding opportunities.
Intervention Insights and Results
Intervention Details:
Access to Local Markets: Diamond Pavilion "Pop-up" Market
Master Class and Presidential Pitch for Funding Training
Master Class and Presidential Pitch for Funding Training
Outcome Details:
Over a period, the turnover increased from R24,000 to R60,000, and the workforce increased from 2 employees to 5 employees. The significant achievement was winning 3 pitching competitions. Firstly, the enterprise entered and won R50 000 in the Township Entrepreneurship Alliance (TEA) pitching. The blended fund was split between mentorship support, and the later 50% towards purchase of equipment.
Secondly, LJ Louis entered the Allan Gray Makers pitching program and achieved first position and was awarded R50 000. In the last week of August, the entity pitched and secured first place at the Galeshewe Township Economy Expo, where they received R10 000 in cash price. Not only has Sedfa’s support boosted confidence but also brought in R110 000 worth of combined support and cash prizes. The Master Class and Presidential Pitch for Funding Training, assisted in perfecting the director’s presentation and business positioning skills, which significantly improved pitching capacity.
Secondly, LJ Louis entered the Allan Gray Makers pitching program and achieved first position and was awarded R50 000. In the last week of August, the entity pitched and secured first place at the Galeshewe Township Economy Expo, where they received R10 000 in cash price. Not only has Sedfa’s support boosted confidence but also brought in R110 000 worth of combined support and cash prizes. The Master Class and Presidential Pitch for Funding Training, assisted in perfecting the director’s presentation and business positioning skills, which significantly improved pitching capacity.
Client Feedback
Client Comments:
“The journey with Sefda boosted my confidence in public speaking. I was recently invited to a panel discussion at the University, that contributed to building my character”
