Vimentis hosts first business and service seminar |06 July 2015

Entrepreneurs and business marketing managers hone skills for better outcome

A group comprising business managers, supervisors, entrepreneurs and students from the School of Business Studies and the Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA) have broadened their knowledge and learned new business skills and techniques.

This was during a two-day business and service seminar hosted by Vimentis, a sales and marketing company based in Sweden.

The seminar was led by Seychelles-born Michel Laporte Godorn, chief executive of Vimentis and local entrepreneur Christopher Lespoir, a pilot by profession. 

Mr Lespoir said the relationship with Vimentis started through networking during the time he was following the Young African Leaders Initiative (Yali) programme in the United States last year.

“Delivering good and quality service is often an issue here and we believe that with the right knowledge and skills this can be greatly improved. Mr Godorn and myself are of the same view after having both gone through different challenges in that regard thus through discussions and after rallying support we came up with  the idea for Mr Godorn to bring his know-how here,” Mr Lespoir pointed out.

He said this is only the start because the idea now is to set up a branch of Vimentis locally.

Vimentis sponsored two students and a lecturer from the School of Business Studies and two students and a lecturer from the STA to attend the seminar.

“We believe it is all about services and that there is no better way but to start with where it all begins,” Mr Lespoir said.

“During the two days we have redefined business training and show the participants that it is not about introducing new things but working with what we have in us. It is not only about our beaches and sun but to give value to what we have as Seychellois to do business better,” Mr Lespoir pointed out.

Mr Lespoir is of the view that with greater demand on products and services across the business world today it is important to identify what you are good at.

Those who enrolled learned how to be great in their particular field while focusing on improvements and developments that will impact on sales and at the same time build the required platform for a profitable future. 

Curtis Leopold, a business development manager at Capital Trading, said: ‘’The training  has broadened our knowledge and opened our minds further and it is now up to us to translate what we have acquired into our businesses and personal lives as well.”

Christina Samson, a senior supervisor at the Seychelles Postal Services, described the two days as very fruitful during which what they already know have been enhanced and it was a great opportunity to acquire new knowledge and skills.

Flavien Joubert, the principal of the STA, launched the work of the seminar on Friday placing emphasis on the increasing need for better service delivery notably in the tourism industry.

Local enterprise Organisers Seychelles played a key role in organising the seminar at the end of which everyone who enrolled received certificates.

The ceremony was attended by former President James Mancham, the principal secretary for tourism Anne Lafortune, the chairman of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry Marco Francis, among other guests.