Be conversant with figures, marketers challenged

Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Malawi Chapter president Stanley Mkwamba has challenged marketers to be conversant with figures and be counted as the rest of the professionals.

Speaking in Blantyre on Wednesday during the opening of a two-day workshop for marketers on finance for marketing and commercial drivers, he said marketers needed to claim influential positions by improving their skills and knowledge in financials.

Said Mkwamba: “CIM aspires to see more marketers rising to key positions, including strategic contributions in the boardroom. However, to achieve this, up-skilling and expansion of their capabilities is key. This training workshop offers one such opportunity towards that goal.

“A professional marketer cannot run away from numbers. This training aims at demystifying the business financials for marketers to realign them as core players to the business. As marketers rise up the ladder, figures become a very critical component of their daily work.”

One of the participants, Taleetha Bowler, said the refresher course will help her to interpret the figures to the betterment of the company.

Seasoned marketers, Enwell Kadango, who is general manager of Petroleum Importers Limited (PIL), Fredrick Changaya, operations manager at Candlex Limited and inspirational speaker and accountant Daniel Dunga are facilitating the training workshop. n