Igniting Success: Something About Francis delivers an Access to Market Programme for the South African Furniture Initiative (SAFI), City of Cape Town and SEDA.

In our pursuit to leverage digital systems and tools to ensure that SME’s can find and keep their ideal clients online, Something About Francis began an exciting relationship with the South African Furniture Initiative (SAFI) in 2023. Our goal was clear: to equip each small business owner on their Light Manufacturing Programme with the strategies and tools needed to reach an untapped market on social and digital media and develop their online presence in preparation for Africa's leading decor and design event - Decorex Africa. 

The programme was designed around 4 key objectives, each of which served as a stepping stone to launching these businesses into the digital and social spotlight: 

1. Market Readiness Assessment  Every successful journey commences with understanding one's position. SAF evaluated each SMME, laying the groundwork for the digital marketing transformations to come. 

2. Tailored Digital Marketing Strategies  Understanding that every organisation is unique, we developed custom digital marketing strategies using information from the assessments, industry knowledge and our experience building powerful brands and businesses online. These plans promised to revolutionise their online presence leading to an increase in leads and clients for their businesses.

3. Training for Empowerment  Equipping these entrepreneurs with the correct digital tools was crucial. Comprehensive training sessions were delivered by SAF, equipping SMMEs with the necessary expertise to implement their strategies throughout the next 12 months confidently. 

4. Preparing for Global Impact As the programme culminated with the SME's exhibiting their products at one of the largest furniture design and decor showcase on the continent, each SME had to have a solid online presence, a distinguishable brand and a value proposition that could compete with the best in the furniture design and manufacturing industry. SAF developed corporate identities and digital communications plans for the SME's to ensure that they maintain a consistent posting schedule and can easily implement their Digital Marketing strategies to continue reaching new audiences and potential clients long after Decorex.

Our implementation of this Market Access programme was not without challenges. SAF encountered a variety of SMME-specific difficulties. These included disconnects in digital platform understanding, pricing difficulties, language barriers, and logistical limitations. Despite these challenges, lively debates about competition, target clientele, and ideal pricing proved the SMMEs' had in-depth knowledge of their market and their

The workshop expanded into an empowering platform, providing these forward-thinking SMMEs with the skills, insights, and tools they need to succeed as they reach new markets and become globally competitive. With SAF as their guide, these SMMEs are prepared for a revolutionary journey as they use their newly acquired skills to break down boundaries, engage audiences online, and write their success stories. 

Find out how we can partner with your organisation to deliver tailor-made digital marketing solutions for SME's.

Contact us to conceptualise a high-impact Marketing programme for your business or ED beneficiaries.