If you own a successful SMEs in Africa, you will agree with me that studying from a business administration course (or degree) will help you develop the necessary managerial skills you need. Entrepreneurship is a thoroughly competitive field. Not only do you need to learn the fundamentals of finance, operations, human resources, marketing, and management, you also learn how to lead and motivate people, communicate effectively, and think critically as the founder of an SME in Africa.
You need to learn how to make sound business decisions and solve funding problems while remaining resourceful, all of which are vital skills in today’s business world. You need to be able to write reports for your investors, deliver presentations or successfully negotiate deals with your customers. You need to develop your listening skills and understand the importance of body language in your chosen market. You also need to learn to work as a team, how to get the best out of your team and how to deliver a service that exceeds your customer’s expectations.
A business administration course will teach you how to achieve all these and more. Good business courses are about developing your interpersonal skills so that you feel more confident in dealing with people in the workplace. Some of these courses operate with hands-on activities such as group projects to inculcate in you the skills you need and hundreds of them are online and free.
From amazing online platforms like Coursera and edX to some of the world’s most prestigious universities like Harvard, MIT and Wharton, there are thousands of business administration courses you can choose from. You can attend your courses for a few minutes in a day and over the span of a month. If you are concerned about the payments for these courses, we are here to allay your fears because below are 10 business administration classes you can take online for free.
Fintech- Foundations and Applications of Financial Technology
Financial technology (Fintech) is one aspect of technology that has indisputably changed how businesses; small, medium or large, process and use their financial information. The global fintech lending market is growing so exponentially and it is expected to expand at a CAGR of 13% between 2020 – 2026.
Fintechs are able to provide small businesses with a fully digital and more personalized customer service experience, in addition to providing a more in-depth look at a business’ entire operations. In some cases, the entire application, underwriting, and compliance process can be completed in a matter of hours or minutes.
If you run an SME in Africa, there is a need for you to understand fintech and how best you can integrate it into your business. You need to continually upgrade yourself to expand your competitive advantage. You can access this program from Coursera and get started immediately.
Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies
An emerging market economy is the economy of a developing nation that is becoming more engaged with global markets as it grows. This includes markets (such as Nigerian) that may become developed markets in the future or were in the past. The steady growth and development of emerging economies have been projected to eventually lead to developing economies overtaking those which are considered to be more advanced.
Emerging markets will help the global economy to grow because these are the economies that will grow larger in the future and thus will have more impact on global trade and economics. To secure your spot in this future, you need to understand the inner workings of an emerging economy such as the one within which your business operates.
This course was developed by Harvard University and will teach you how to tackle complex social problems in emerging economies through innovative ideas.
Improving Your Business Through a Culture of Health
Most founders of SMEs in Africa don’t factor this into the success equation for their businesses but health really is wealth. When you have employees dependent on you for financial benefits and allowances, a good workplace culture under your leadership is capable of transforming your business, improving the well-being of your employees and company, while tripling your revenue.
This course by Harvard University will equip you with the quick set of skills you need to take care of your business by cultivating a culture of health for you and your workforce. It will be broken down by the instructor Jose Alvarez, who is a senior lecturer of business administration at Harvard University and will add much value to your business acumen.
Personal Finance, Part 1: Investing in Yourself
Making sound economic investments tend to pay off well but if anything investing in yourself remains the ultimate goldmine. Investing in yourself is one of the best return on investments you can have because it sends a powerful message to your competitors and the world. It shows that the value and potential you possess is important enough to give the energy, space and time it needs to grow and create results.
In this course, you will learn how to incorporate financial considerations into your life decisions. This is a vital skill to have not just because it will help you become an effective consumer of financial information, but also because it will help you cultivate the confidence you need to blaze through your chosen niche on your own terms. The course was developed at Wellesley College and taught by Ann Witte, professor emerita of economics at Wellesley College.
Fundamentals of Digital Marketing
Google launched its digital skills courses for Africans back in 2016, and since then, the program has taken founders of many SMEs in Africa from digital marketing illiteracy to savvy operators in the ever-expanding world of online business.
This is a highly relevant course in business administration because it covers everything you need to know about building an online business presence, literally. You will learn how to get a business online, how to promote through email, social media, SEO and SEM marketing, mobile-friendly tweaks, audience segmentation and targeting, etc. It consists of 26 modules, and not only can you tackle it at your own pace, you’ll also get a certification from Google at the end of it all.
Supply Chain Dynamics
A supply chain is the network between your SME and its suppliers which works to produce and distribute a specific product to your final customers. It is the entire system in place for the production and delivery of products or services, from the very beginning stage of sourcing the raw materials to the final delivery of the product or service to end-users.
Your supply chain lays out all aspects of the production process, including the activities involved at each stage, information that is being communicated, natural resources that are transformed into useful materials, human resources, and other components that go into the finished product or service.
Understanding all the dynamics is crucial and this course which was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will help you learn how to manage and harness the interactions between firms and entities within your supply chain.
Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship
Whether or not you harbor ambitions of starting your own business, you’ll be well-served by learning an approach to generating and testing entrepreneurial ideas.
In this course, not only will you explore how best to identify and develop your business ideas successfully, you will also learn how to identify opportunities based on real customer needs so as to develop solid business models, and take your SMES in Africa to the next level. This course is offered on the platform Coursera alongside many others.
Entrepreneurship 101: Who is your customer?
Your customers are individuals and businesses that purchase goods and services from your SMES, in Africa and beyond. To understand real customers and how to better meet their needs, you need to learn how to identify them easily.
Without this understanding, you won’t be able to define your product or service from your customer’s perspective or closely monitor their customer relationships to identify ways to improve your overall customer experience. Even if you have a great idea for a product, without knowing who it will bring benefits to, your venture is bound to hit the rocks sooner than you think. This course is offered on the platform edX along with many others.
An Introduction to Operations Management
All businesses depend on daily productive operations to generate the revenue they need. There are many moving parts and even if you don’t supervise any employee’s day-to-day work yet, as a business owner you need to realise that it’s only a matter of time before you have to spearhead or lead a good team.
To this end, you need to learn how to analyze and improve business processes. You need to learn how to supervise and increase productivity and also responsiveness because these are great ways you can provide more options to the customer, while delivering higher quality standards. This is also a Cousera business administration course and you can sign up as soon as possible to start learning.
People Management
It’s no secret that people management is probably one of the most important soft leadership skills. This is because it influences productivity, impacts staff morale and is critical during periods of transition, uncertainty and change.
People management is the process of training, motivating and directing employees in order to optimize workplace productivity and promote professional growth. Founders of successful SMEs in Africa understand this skill is necessary because it can steadily boost employee performance every day.
Effective people management is a necessary quality for any business owner who aims to prepare his/her employees for success. The skills that help you be a good manager of persons can also help you discover your strengths while identifying the areas you need to work on to thrive in your business. This course takes a look at how the different components of your management skill can support your business’s goals, and is offered on edX alongside others.
Conclusion
There are a lot of free business administration courses available online and offered by some of the world’s best universities and business schools. Many are free, others are paid for in full and yet for some others, you have the option of either auditing the course or paying a nominal fee to earn your certification only. No matter what you decide, continuing to learn what you can about business administration online with an accredited institution is a great cost-effective way to grow your business while expanding your horizons.
And however you look at it, the situation is a win-win.