On Wednesday, seven students from Credmark Botswana made a mark in the history of Credit Management profession in Botswana when they received their Institute Credit Management (ICM) Credit 1 Certificates at a ceremony held at the Gaborone Sun.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of Credmark Botswana, Nkosi Mwaba, stated that training and skills development courses in the field of credit management have been virtually unavailable to the local market. He said the financial services sector and business community at large have never recognized this subject-matter as a profession, let alone a critical business function.
?This is a celebration of the fact that the credit profession is finally gaining the recognition it deserves in Botswana,? Mwaba said. ?It is also about this group of individuals who took it upon themselves to enhance their careers by finding a way to take advantage of the study opportunities offered by Credmark.?
He said the efforts of these individuals will not only benefit them but also their employers as well as future candidates who wish to have a firm career in Credit Management.
Although learners have had the option of enrolling in the same or similar courses elsewhere, Mwaba pointed out that this had proved to be time consuming and a costly exercise even for the affording corporate businesses. Bringing these programmes to Botswana, Mwaba said, effectively cut out unnecessary costs such as travel, accommodation, allowances and incidentals.
Today?s business model, he said, needs a sound credit policy and effective credit and risk management systems in place to survive. He pointed out that the lack of skills in this area is a major contributor to the high rate of failing businesses, particularly in the private sector.
?We are now in the era where training, skills development and capacity building have become a necessity.? He stressed that it was encouraging to see individuals willing to empower themselves with the skills necessary to take their careers to greater heights.
Mwaba said that Credmark Botswana had taken that first step necessary to uplift the status of this profession to global standards. He emphasized that Botswana would continue to provide training solutions for the credit fraternity and play a key role in changing the status quo for the better.
Expressing his gratitude to Credmark Botswana, Washington Segopolo, a member of Credmark South Africa, stated that for too long Batswana had been suffering as they were spending a lot of money going to South Africa to study this course. He urged employers to take this course so as to stop using accountants for Credit Control.
?Credmark Botswana is a specialized institute accredited by the Institute of Credit Management,? explained Segopolo.
According to Segopolo ICM is a professional body whose aim is to raise the professional standards of credit management and to increase awareness of its importance as a key business function. ?This is our time to utilize it and progress so as to become Credit Management Specialists.?
