The artists form the heart of the company and define what Streetwires is. This business is doing great things, since its main objective is the creation of sustainable jobs for the people in South Africa. Streetwires has implemented a nice production chain. This is allowing the company to accept big orders without reducing the quality on the different hand made products. At the moment, approximately 90 individuals make up the organization, they influence not only directly to their families and friends but to the rest of the industry.

Last week we finished drafting the Streetwires’s Marketing and Sales Strategy. We were working with the management team during a couple weeks trying to identify the companies Mission and core values. We involved in the process the team leaders and the rest of the sales team. We decided to include the rest of the employees for the SWOT analysis as an exercise to encourage employee participation and developed sense of belonging.

Gonzalo Aramayo, is a Bolivian that joined MBA’s Without Borders to help three art craft companies in Cape Town, South Africa. He hopes that his knowledge in marketing, product development, and ICT’s, his previous experience in Development projects, his ability to laugh and his passion to teach will be useful for the assignment starting in July. Gonzalo will be working as a Business Development Associate for Streetwires, Mielie and Kunye in Capetown, South Africa, supporting the organizations in developing a marketing and sales strategy, information and knowledge systems, cost and price analysis, as well as improving the operations efficiency of the South African art-craft work.

Mielie is a handcraft business, based at the Montebello Design Centre in Newlands, Cape Town. Mielie is Afrikaans for corn, the staple diet of most South Africans, and probably the first item on most of the weaver’s shopping list. Mielie was started by Adri Schütz (owner and designer) in June 2002, working with a [...]

Streetwires is based in the center of Cape Town. Streetwires started in 2000 with two artists and three founders. Streetwires is a business with a social mission that is, generate secure and sustainable employment for disadvantage people. The focus of this unique company is the production of high quality bead and wire products. The [...]