IMPRESSIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE TOWARDS A RURAL NPO FROM NEDBANK'S SMALL BUSINESS CONSULTANT

As a social entrepreneur that works closely with members of society from impoverished backgrounds in the early childhood and rural development space, I am delighted to share a positive testimonial on the service our non profit organisation (NPO) received from Nedbank's Small Business Consultant which has had a wonderful ripple effect on our financial well-being, staff and community at large.

In 2013 my late father founded Phindavele Creche in KZN's Umzumbe Village with the intent of making a socio-economic difference by empowering rural children through quality education and setting them up for success in life. In order for his dream to come to life, he registered an NPO and got volunteers from the community to serve as staff and management committee members. The creche operated from a local church building with no funds or resources but passion to drive change and improve lives. More than 50 children per annum were enabled to have access to quality ECD services provided by my dad, 3 staff members and a management committee of 5 elders from the village. Upon his passing in 2016, I stepped in to serve as a secretary and public officer so that the creche could gain funds tat would grow and sustain it. The reality of a non-profit organization is that it needs a solid administration arm and good financial governance for it to thrive. As such, we approached the Nedbank Port Shepstone Branch (Oribi Plaza) to open a bank account and be in a position to receive a quarterly stipend from the Department of Social Development. Since 2017 the team from the Nedbank branch has been walking the journey with us so that Phindavele could comply administratively and qualify for SARS Tax Exemption Status. Our NPO stems from humble beginnings where the majority of our management committee is illiterate nor do our staff have the financial tools to empower themselves. I would like to particularly thank Mr Pragasen Kisten for his excellent service throughout the years. Pragasen never gave up on us and assisted us every step of the way to ensure all our staff members have personal bank accounts that are suitable for their financial needs; and despite many challenges we have faced, our NPO business account remains open and active because of having Nedbank by our side. Today Phindavele NPO has an online banking profile; which enables our transactions to take place electronically; saving our elderly management committee members much needed time and money to keep going in and out of the physical bank. One of our staff members recently brought a car due to a healthy financial record that she has after having opened a bank account where she receives her quarterly salary in. And to top it all off, Phindavele NPO received a donation from the Impande Norway Foundation to build us our own centre; as a result of the profile (supported by financial records) that our organisation has build over the years. We no operate as a community development centre from our very own premises! I would like to say thank you for the great service we have received from Nedbank. We truly are a living testimony of UBUNTU and that through working collectively with all stakeholder, we can make positive socio-economic impact in our communities.