Honey Bun launches free diagnostics tool Gapp App for SMEs
SMALL ENTERPRISES have a new diagnostic tool to work with as they try to establish and grow their businesses.
The Honey Bun Foundation has partnered with Digicel Foundation and others to develop and deploy Gapp App, through which small business, or SMEs, can periodically assess their operations and processes.
The sponsors and supporting entities of the initiative were announced at its launch on Wednesday as tech developer for Gapp App Niritech Digital, EXIM Bank Jamaica, Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Jamaica Business Development Corporation and Kingston Creative.
Each business with a registered account on the app can complete a business survey once a month. Gapp, which was developed at a cost of $2.5 million, will score the various metrics of business health, according to information inputted in the surveys, covering areas of the business such as human resources, marketing, finance and others. These results will also be saved in the app for reference, and SMEs can act on the results to resolve issues or weaknesses over time.
Honey Bun CEO Michelle Chong said her company, through its foundation, wanted to help fix the knowledge gap among entrepreneurs, to better position their businesses to grow.
“People just don’t know what they don’t know. We needed a way to do a diagnostic of business that was quick, and diverts them to where to go to get help,” Chong said.
“We have everything and more that we need from documents prepared years ago. What we didn’t have is the glue to put them together to deliver capacity building for SMEs,” she said.
General manager of the Honey Bun Foundation, Nashauna Lalah, said the original version of the Gapp App will be free to SMEs, and will be updated with the addition of more solutions and support organisations.
Digicel Foundation has waived data charges for using the Gapp App.
Future versions of the app that deepen the service offerings will incur a charge for SMEs utilising it, Lalah said.