British Airways to give 50 SMEs international lift-off
New competition will give away tickets to encourage business expansion
November 26, 2009
By Thabiso Mochiko
Fifty small to medium enterprises (SMEs) will benefit from British Airways' R29 million grant, which aims to assist them to expand their businesses overseas.
The airline this week launched the British Airways Business Opportunity Grants that will see 50 enterprises receive 10 business class tickets each to travel in countries where British Airways operates to meet potential clients and business partners.
Sue Botes, British Airways' commercial manager, said this was an opportunity that some companies would not have had as businesses had cut their travel budgets by 56 percent over the past year.
"During the economic downturn one of the first things that companies do is to cut travel budgets," she said.
"Based on a study done by Harvard Business Review, face-to-face meetings are very important for business people to build relationships and also for the success of their businesses. There is nothing better than looking someone in the eye and to shake hands," she said.
Botes added this opportunity would demonstrate the benefits of doing business face to face.
Alan Knott-Craig, the former chief executive of Vodacom and one of the judges, said the value of face-to-face meetings was incomparable.
"It's encouraging to see that British Airways is supporting SMEs through this difficult time, giving them a chance to expand into new markets," Knott-Craig added.
Nkhensani Nkosi, founder of clothing brand Stoned Cherrie and an advocate of the British Airways Opportunity Grants initiative, said SMEs were becoming increasingly important to the local economy and development.
This initiative would give local SMEs an opportunity to develop into new markets in this challenging economic environment, she said.
The competition is open to companies with employees of 250 or less in all sectors. They have until February 19 to enter the competition online at www.ba.com/safrica-grants. The winners will be announced in March and the tickets should be used between April next year and March 2011.
Botes said applicants would need to outline their objectives for next year and how being awarded a grant would benefit their business.
She added that it would be difficult to monitor whether the tickets were used for business and not pleasure, but that this was expected to be reflected in the applications.
"We will keep in touch with the winners and follow their stories. We will report back on their success," she said.
British Airways has launched similar initiatives in Hong Kong, India, the UK, US and the United Arab Emirates.
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