The Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Durban University of Technology hosted a presentation on Financial Management of Small Enterprises by Roger Gopaul, the High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago.

Besides serving as High Commissioner, Gopaul has an illustrious career in Finance, having worked in the private sector and as a lecturer at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT). In addition to that, Gopaul served as the Regional Head of Education for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA Global) and he has been involved in rural development projects in Trinidad and Tobago.

Gopaul’s presentation included reasons why SMMEs fail, the importance of financial management for small enterprises and financial management techniques that can be applied within small enterprises.
According to Gopaul, some of the main reasons why SME’s fail include:
· Inadequate business planning;
· Insufficient capital;
· Cash flow management; and
· Poor credit management.

Gopaul is very passionate about entrepreneurship. In his presentation, he encouraged his audience to know the importance of “having a measured perception of what you are doing and to create what you cannot find”.

“You can be small in size but big in influence. What you know is your weapon of warfare, what you don’t know is your weapon of self-destruction”, said Gopaul.

– Sthabile Gwala

Pictured: Roger Gopaul, the High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago.