VERDE launches BFC19, a free online support service platform to businesses, including SMEs who are looking to reinvent and restructure themselves. All those who register on the platform can also have the possibility of obtaining financing, collaborations and other opportunities in this difficult context.
The link to the platform is www.mauritius.bfc19.com
The platform allows all businesses to register and join a community where there are experts from different fields to advise and support them with respect to the issues which they are facing or which they are likely to face because of the Covid-19. The platform is open to all types of businesses from any sector of activity.
“Based on the numerous discussions held with entrepreneurs from many sectors and different company sizes during the past four weeks, we had to intervene to provide support to all those businesses which find themselves in varying difficulties. We spoke to many partners within our network, and they were all enthusiastic to join our initiative and to help those who are today in difficult situations, and those who require help in reinventing themselves”, says Dirish Noonaram, Co Founder and Partner of VERDE.
VERDE partnered with Ogment, a specialist software development and digital transformation company to develop the platform with the support of the MRIC. To formulate the service offering, VERDE undertook qualitative interviews and discussions with close to 70 businesses, including SMEs and the following were the most sought after, especially in these times:
- To find possibilities of partnerships and collaborations with other businesses
- To obtain financing through banks or through private networks and collaborators
- To find opportunities and market deals
- To engage in digital transformation as, for example, many shops have been forced to provide online shopping and delivery
- Other assistance, support and advice as the situation is complex and each business has its own set of challenges
Ganesha Mooroogan, Founder of Ogment, mentions that: “Once we understood the requirements of businesses, our team of developers decided to build a simple and efficient platform. The platform is easy to access and register. Once registration is complete, users can submit their requests and our team will then initiate contact. We have also included a cutting-edge business matching algorithm to find, evaluate and make powerful partnership recommendations for those who have joined the BFC community.”
Through this platform, VERDE has mobilised a number of its partners and collaborators so that most people who join the community are attended to. Given that it is difficult to estimate the possible number of registrations we may obtain, and it is possible that the numbers are quite high, we have so far made provisions to fully support the initiative especially in these unprecedented times.
We believe that BFC is an excellent opportunity for many businesses to join an innovative community of entrepreneurs where synergies and collaborations are sure to happen. Dr Vickram Bissonauth, Research Coordinator at the MRIC, says that: “Through the MRIC’s involvement in the National SME Incubator Scheme (NSIS) we have managed to develop an interesting relationship between the public and the private sector. By launching BFC19, VERDE, which is one of our NSIS-accredited incubators, is helping to further strengthen the support to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. On the other hand, Ogment was the first start-up to benefit from the NSIS- acceleration programme and we are today very proud that the company has continued its progress and has come up with the online platform. I also invite other support entities such as crowdfunding platforms and other incubators to join BFC and the VERDE team in its nation-wide initiative, which is critical in these difficult times.”
For further information about BFC19, please contact:
- Ganesha Mooroogan – Partner, Ogment on 5936 6706, or
- Dirish Noonaram, Co-Founder and Partner, VERDE on 214 1900, or send an email at info@verdefrontier.mu
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ABOUT THE PROMOTERS OF BFC19
VERDE
VERDE is a specialist firm in research and which has been involved in entrepreneurship since 2017, by the launch of Scale Up awards and being an accredited incubator under the National SME Incubator Scheme of the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC).
OGMENT
Ogment provides customized solution and develops a comprehensive range of services to assist companies in implementing digital change. We build and implement software solutions and undertook a number of projects in PHP, Python, JavaScript, Java, CSS, XML, SQL and HTML5. We follow frameworks like AngularJS, Boostrap, Symfony, NodeJS, and Laravel. We value data and treat it like no other. We use mostly MySQL and PostgreSQL databases but we do have knowledge in mongoDB and NoSQL. Tools that we use include Talend, Jasper Report, BIRT and custom PHP/HTML5 libraries.
MAURITIUS RESEARCH AND INNOVATION COUNCIL (MRIC)
The MRIC endorses BFC19. The MRIC is the apex body which advises the Government on matters concerning applied research, innovation and research and development issues. The National SME Incubator Scheme is a scheme under which VERDE is an accredited incubator.
