By Mots’elisi Sekonyela
MASERU
Paseka Ramokoatsi, popularly known as PDollar is a 41 year old business consultant under his company PDollar entrepreneurship center of excellence which he says is an entrepreneurship and management consultancy that he started in 2011.
Ramokoatsi studied B. Comm Accounting at the National University of Lesotho where he gained professional skills into the financial sector. Upon completion of his studies in 2009, Ramokoatsi worked for a consultancy firm which sparked the idea of starting his own. He then resigned from his job after two years and opened up own firm at Maseru South, Qoaling where he resides.
He was born and raised in the same township of Qoaling where he attended primary at Loretto primary school, then went on to Methodist high school. While at Methodist, the “Book keeping” subject sparked the love for finances in Ramokoatsi, hence his decision to enroll for a Bachelor of Commerce in accounting.
The PDollar consultancy holds training sessions for both individual and corporate clients. Among notable corporate clients is the BEDCO business plan competition participants whom he trained in the top 25 stage of the competition on how to better package their business plans.
PDollar entrepreneurship center of excellence in December 2022 won an international award for “Business Advisor of The Year” by Africa Startup Ecosystem Builders Summit and Awards. This is an annual event under the Setup a Startup organization founded by McKevin Ayoba, located in Sandton, South Africa. Its mission is to advance ecosystem building as a new approach to economic development to help more people and communities achieve economic independence through entrepreneurial success while recognizing and celebrating unsung heroes in ecosystem building.
The consultancy also started offering budgeting and entrepreneurship classroom training to retiring members of the armed forces, the Lesotho Defense Force (LDF) and the Lesotho Mounted Police Services (LMPS) in March 2022.
Ramokoatsi says he is particularly interested in the armed forces because its members retire earlier than most government employees, at age 55 while the others retire at age 60. Furthermore, Ramokoatsi said at retirement, these men and women become targets of dodgy financial schemes, therefore they are better off equipped on proper budgeting and entrepreneurship that goes with financial management.
“The armed forces members retire quite early, which enables them to still be able to start and run businesses successfully as well as be teachable on new and wise financial habits that will help them survive the retirement period,” he said.
He has since trained about 61 LDF members since 2022, two of whom have started successful businesses.
The consultancy also works closely with BAM Group in offering various workshops to its employees that include marketing, customer service as well as entrepreneurship.