Monrovia – Gusceman Incorporated, a local business service provider in collaboration with the USAID Liberia Accountability and Voice Initiative (LAVI), is reaching out to aspiring service providers and civil society organizations (CSOs) to build relationships and partnerships meant to be beneficial to the participating entities.
The networking events, which were conducted on July 21, 22, and 27, 2017 in Monrovia, were held under the theme “Marketing Initiative for Service Provider Pool Networking,” brought together a combined number of over fifty (50) participants from both service providers pool and CSOs from a diverse business and advocacy background in Monrovia.
Augustus J. Flomo, chief executive officer of Gusceman, said the events were intended to network and to improve the skills, knowledge, and confidence of local business people, particularly those offering business services to CSOs, government, private institutions or individuals.
“Today is the beginning in my opinion of a lot of networks or enhancing our network that we’ve tried to build over the period.”
“This is not a normal kind of workshop as you call it, where we will expect you to go and sit down and have a presentation and walk away”.
“This is meant for us to be able to say to each other the services that we provide and how we can procure from you and how you can procure from me, so, we do relationship one side of the process, which has to do with procuring of services depending on what you do, the other flip side of it is also building network,” he said.
Mr. Flomo said the networking event came from the backdrop of a great initiative that USAID LAVI is sponsoring to get them started as service providers to begin to build a platform where “we all can make a business, meet the needs of our clients and prosper.”
He said the networking event is called Marketing Initiative for Service Provider Pool Networking and considers each one as a potential buyer.
“You will come and convince me how I can procure from you or how you can procure from me.”
“Some time ago, USAID LAVI put out this event we participated and they told us that there were few issues they want us to address, so the issue that was under consideration was local service providers not having time for CSOs sufficiently.
“Most of us here have developed the perception that CSOs do not even have money and I am sure because we have that in mind, we have not focused on that market opportunity sufficiently.
The USAID LAVI project has created awareness on the CSOs market among local service providers and has been developing capacities of SPs to meet the needs of the CSO.
Flomo said, “We have set the stage where we can easily work together with the CSOs and be able to market ourselves.
We are working with LAVI to expand and to reach out to other agencies, so we are going to be able to have a forum that is going to take us to the CSOs, Donor community, SMEs, Corporate entities and other stakeholders.”
LAVI is a USAID funded project. Mr. Alex Adel, Capacity Development Director at USAID LAVI thanked Mr. Flomo for organizing the Events.
He told the participants that LAVI’s support towards the USAID initiative is to make sure that SP expands their networks, so there is going to be more networking and creating opportunities.
He promised the participants and organizers that they will continue to build the capacity of local business people and to help them generate more revenue for themselves.
“I am so much excited about this gathering because it will help improve your businesses,” he concluded.
The participants at the events were much appreciative to USAID LAVI for following up with the events and creating the space that service providers will have a sustainable platform for coordination and standardization while at the same time providing much needed services to their clients including CSOs.