Level 4 Professional Diploma in Entrepreneurship – London Examinations Board

The rate of unemployment in has been on the rise in the recent yeas and there have been rises in the cost of living without the incremental increase in wages and salaries. There are therefore a large number of unemployed graduates, working adults with no qualifications and low paid employees who have turned to entrepreneurship as last resort in securing a living wage and/or income. Although some have been successful in earning a living wage and some have made fortunes, the greater majority have failed as they were not prepared for the rigours of entrepreneurship

This course is designed to provide a different approach from the other coursework intensive programmes on entrepreneurship. This course is targeted for active entrepreneurs and aimed to equip them with practical knowledge leading to better product development, stronger branding and higher sales

Overall Programme Outcomes

At the end of the program, learners will be able to:

• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding on equity and capital structure of any type of businesses, be it sole proprietorship or incorporation and which type of registration would be the best for their business – from capital, ease of doing business and taxation point of view
• Develop the knowledge and skills required to position their product or services and segmentize market based on demand
• Critically evaluate the key issues in financing, product development, marketing and business operations
• Analyse their existing branding status and formulate rebranding strategy to cope up with competition and technological advancement
• Implement better commercialisation activity for their business by strengthening sales and distribution channel

Entry Requirements

An applicant may be admitted on the basis of evidence to suggest that he/she will be able to fulfil and benefit from the objectives of the programme and achieve the standard required for the award

Programme Structure and Assessment

The Level 4 Professional Diploma in Entrepreneurship accrues 120 credits. In order to cater for the busy schedule and lack of available time of the entrepreneurs, the course will be conducted as blended programme combining self-instructional learning, quizzes, face-to-face elective seminars and a final exam

This course has been endorsed under the ABC Awards and Certa Awards Quality Licence Scheme

To further facilitate the entrepreneurs, the program duration will be divided into two parts where Part 2 has two optional tracks.

Part 1 – 6 Months 20 Credits

Part 1 comprises of four elements as follows:

(i)  Programme Orientation class

(ii)  Two core module classes (minimum 4 hours face-to-face lecture each) on:

a.  Business Model Canvas (5 credits)

b.  Capital & Equity (5 credits)

(iii)  Two tutorial classes (minimum 4 hours face-to-face lecture each) on:

a.  BMC Workshop (5 credits)

b.  Angel Investor (5 credits)

(iv)  Mid-Term Assessment (interview)

Part 2 Option 1: A – Track (6 Months) 60 Credits

Part 2 Option 1: A Track comprises of four elements as follows:

(i)  Six core module classes on:

a.  Brand Design (5 credits)

b.  Public Relations (5 credits)

c.  Social Media I: Facebook (5 credits)

d.  Social Media II: Instagram (5 credits)

e.  Retail Marketing (5 credits)

f.  Distribution Channel (5 credits)

(ii)  Six tutorial classes (minimum 4 hours face-to-face lecture each) on:

a.  Website Design (5 credits)

b.  Advertising (5 credits)

c.  Social Media Workshop (5 credits)

d.  Video Production for Social Media (5 credits)

e.  Packaging Design (5 credits)

f.  Distribution Law (5 credits)

(iii)  Three viva preparation workshops (minimum 4 hours face-to-face lecture each) on:

a.  Content Design & Strategy (5 credits)

b.  PowerPoint Design (5 credits)

c.  Corporate Presentation (5 credits)

(iv)  Viva exam – 15 minutes session evaluated by two evaluators/professors (25 credits)

Part 2 Option 2: O – Track (6 Months)

Part 2 Option 2: O Track comprises of three elements as follows:

(i)  Six self-instructional core modules on:

a.       Brand Design class recording (5 credits)

b.      Public Relations class recording (5 credits)

c.       Social Media I: Facebook class recording (5 credits)

d.      Social Media II: Instagram class recording (5 credits)

e.       Retail Marketing class recording (5 credits)

f.        Distribution Channel class recording (5 credits)

(ii)  Six quizzes following each core module on:

a.       Brand Design online quiz (5 credits)

b.      Public Relations online quiz (5 credits)

c.       Social Media I: Facebook online quiz (5 credits)

d.      Social Media II: Instagram online quiz (5 credits)

e.       Retail Marketing online quiz (5 credits)

f.        Distribution Channel online quiz (5 credits)

(iii)  Written examination for O-Track as follows:

a.       PDE Paper 1 – 40 Objective Questions (15 credits)

b.       PDE Paper 2 – 60 Objective Questions (25 credits)

Unit 1.     Business Model Canvas

Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a strategic management and lean start-up template for developing new or documenting existing business models.

On completion of this unit, you will have understood how to use the BMC as a visual chart with elements describing a firm’s or product’s value proposition, infrastructure, customers, and finances

Unit 2.     Capital & Equity

Learn the fundamentals of capital and equity including in relation to establishing an appropriate business entity.

On completion of this unit, you will have understood the concept of equity in reference to the ownership of a corporation and how to strategically use you knowledge about equity to chart the corporation’s future economic prospects.

Unit 3.     Brand Design

A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies a seller’s good or service as distinct from those of another sellers, and Brand Design is method to endow products and services with the power of a brand through visual and graphic design

Upon completion of this unit, you will have understood the creation of design thinking for corporate identity as the fundamental of branding including corporate title, logo (logotype and/or logogram) and supporting devices commonly assembled within a set of corporate guidelines. These guidelines govern how the identity is applied and usually include approved colour palettes, typefaces, page layouts, fonts, and others

Unit 4.     Public Relations

Public relations (PR) is the way organisations, companies and individuals communicate with the public and media.

Upon completion of this unit, you will have understood communication with a target audience directly or indirectly through media with an aim of creating and maintain a positive image for a strong relationship with your audience

Unit 5.     Social Media I: Facebook

Social media is interactive computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks.

On completion of this unit, you will have understood Facebook as one of the efficient ways to advertise online and to use it to reach Facebook users worldwide based on their location, age, gender, interests and more

Unit 6.     Social Media II: Instagram

Social media is interactive computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks

On completion of this unit, you will have understood Instagram as a photo and video-sharing social networking service.  The app allows users to upload photos and videos to the service, which can be edited with various filters, and organized with tags and location information. An account’s posts can be shared publicly or with pre-approved followers. Users can browse other users’ content by tags and locations, and view trending content. Users can “like” photos, and follow other users to add their content to a feed

Unit 7.     Retail Marketing

A retail distribution channel is one option for reaching customers and prospects efficiently in the effort to expanding market to reach a larger, more widespread customer base.

By the end of this project, you should be able to design planning to enables the business to grow in an efficient way by selling goods through a retail channel that extends the geographical reach of the business

Unit 8.     Distribution Channel

A distribution channel is a chain of businesses or intermediaries through which a good or service passes until it reaches the end consumer. It can include wholesalers, retailers, distributors and even the internet.

By the end of this project, you should be able to design either a direct channel to allows the consumer to buy the good from the manufacturer, or an indirect channel to allow the consumer to buy the good from a wholesaler or retailer