If there is something that small businesses can never get enough of, it’s access to great, relevant and timeous advice and information, and that’s where South African publishing entrepreneur Tinky Ogle comes in. Her publication, SMME News, is playing a key role in bringing news and information right into the heart of the entrepreneurial community in which she lives and works.

LoA chatted to Tinky this month about her vision for SMME news and her passion for supporting small businesses in the country.

What does your company do?

SMME News is a free bilingual educational and location-agnostic newspaper aimed at enriching the key aspects of SMME life. It targets formal and informal businesses in the Small, Medium and Micro-Enterprises (SMME) sector and aims to play a major role in the dissemination of information and advice, as well as serving as an open forum for SMME stakeholders.

"SMME News offers a quality brand with a unique style of writing and diversity on the subjects so as to ensure that each and every aspect of SMME life is covered."

What inspired you to start your company?

SMME News is a branch of Phumelela Farms and Projects - a Community Development service provider specializing in training, business advisory services and social facilitation. Over the years we have gathered and produced a great quantity of content, and after realizing the demand for this information I decided that it should be shared with the people who need it most. SMMEs encompass a very broad range of firms, from established traditional family businesses employing over a hundred people (medium-sized enterprises), down to the self-employed survivalists from the poorest layers of the population (informal micro-enterprises). While most business publications tend to concentrate on the urbanites and elites with a readership based in the major cities of South Africa, SMME News is geared at positioning itself more as a rural, semi-urban and M-L LSM SMME publication. This is the path that SMME News is taking - on a mission to become “The Heartbeat of the Small Enterprises”.

We have been fortunate during our startup phase to receive the support of the MDDA (Media Development and Diversity Agency) in South Africa, which has made SMME News possible and what it is today. The Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) is a statutory development agency for promoting and ensuring media development and diversity in the country. We hope to continue to receive such life-changing support going forward as we look to make an even greater impact in the lives of small businesses in our communities.

"Over the years we have gathered and produced a great quantity of content, and after realizing the demand for this information, I decided it should be shared with the people who need it most."

Why should anyone use your service or product?

SMME News offers a quality brand with a unique style of writing and diversity on the subjects so as to ensure that each and every aspect of SMME life is covered. It provides access to information and advice on various issues such as taxation, financing, business management, etc., through well researched articles, interviews and advertorials. Our aim is to equip small entrepreneurs with the necessary expertise required to face the challenges of an internationally competitive economy and also strengthen cohesion between small enterprises while leveling the playing field between the rural, semi-urban and urban small enterprises.

"Our aim is to equip small entrepreneurs with the necessary expertise required to face the challenges of an internationally competitive economy and also strengthen cohesion between small enterprises while leveling the playing field between the rural, semi-urban and urban small enterprises."

Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

When I first started the newspaper I was thrown into the deep end, because I do not come from a media-related and solid entrepreneurial background. I started out doing a Bachelor of Social Science and a lot of voluntary work at educational organizations, but found rewarding pursuits in business as well, which led me to being in an ideal position as a Social Entrepreneur.

What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?

I am my own boss, so I get to make the rules, express my work style freely and challenge myself. But more than anything, I get to have an impact on so many lives through the success of the business.

What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?

Be prepared to work hard, and then some.

Contact or follow SMME News

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | EMAIL tinky@smme-news.co.za

Why LoA loves it….

Any young startup business needs advice and information in the early days, and lots of it, but it can be difficult to access if you are not located in the heart of a big city. However, South African entrepreneur and publisher Tinky Ogle is on a mission to change this. Her publication SMME News is bringing relevant, quality content right into the business communities in rural areas and towns, engaging startups in conversations that matter to them, and providing advice and information that is essential to their development and growth. --- Melanie Hawken, founder and editor-in-chief of Lionesses of Africa