Post on 21-Dec-2015
Effective Microenterprise Education
7th Annual MicroEnterprise Conference
Center for Economic Self-Reliance
Brigham Young University, Marriott School
Shoshana Hecker
March 12, 2004
Presentation Overview•Overview of Making Cents•MC Business Education Experience
MethodologyCurriculaTraining of TrainersCase Study: SenegalLessons Learned
•Business Education Emerging Trend Business Development Services
•Looking Ahead
Overview of Making CentsSmall woman-owned international consulting firm established in 1998 and based in Washington, DC.
• Committed to the improvement of livelihoods • Creation of jobs worldwide • Enable service providers to better assist
entrepreneurs: Expand entrepreneurial mindset & skillset Increase their income, Respond to the market and Grow their businesses.
Making CentsSpecializes in increasing the capacity of business service providers to deliver services to entrepreneurs through:
Provision of innovative experiential methodology training materials, and
Training of trainer courses
Consulting Services
a) Business Skillsb) Curriculumc) How to run a financially sustainable business
Making Cents CurriculaMaking Cents has 13 training curricula that fall within 3 categories:
• Business skills training for entrepreneurs;• Entrepreneurship education for youth; and• Microfinance Institution Loan Assessor Training
Curricula are available in 16 languages (including Spanish and Portuguese) and have been used in 24 countries.
Making Cents Methodology
Local TrainersMaking Cents
Trainer Entrepreneurs
Making Cents Curricula
Business Skills Training
Service Providers/BeneficieriesTrainers trained:• Local consulting firms• Individual consultants• Business associations• Microfinance institutions• NGOs• Schools• Training centers• Government agencies
Trainees:• Urban and peri-urban low-
income women & men• Micro and small
entrepreneurs • Technical colleges and skills
training programs• Vocational training programs• Unemployed youth and
adults• Volunteers and Community
Partners
Capacity Building of Service Providers
Supply effective curriculum
• Experiential methodology
• Margin of adaptation
• Straightforward to facilitate
• Adapt to learners environment
Methodology
Training of Trainers: Objectives
The Training-of-Trainer courses (TOTs) are designed to prepare trainers and educators to deliver effective business education.
Capacity Building of Service Providers
Content
Training of Trainer course
• Facilitation
• Adaptation
• Integration
Case Study: Senegal
Fédération Nationale des Groupements de Promotion Féminine (FNGPF)
Network of Associations for Women’s Development
Source: Interviews conducted with program
directors Sept. - Oct. 2002
Case Study: Senegal
• Mission: Expand Senegalese women’s social and economic empowerment through varied programs.
• Include economic and social promotion through income generating activities– Expanding management abilities & access to credit
FNGPF Overview
Case Study: Senegal
• 54 Savings and credit groups (GECs)– Support collective or individual enterprises
• 2 million + members in network• 7,000 women’s groups• Serve all regions of
Senegal
FNGPF Overview
Case Study: Senegal
• Increase members’ knowledge of enterprise management skills and ability to implement them.– Management training as a requirement for loan in areas
with regular training sessions
Strategy• Develop internal capacity to deliver training to clients • Pilot training in Dakar, adapt for local use
– If successful, offer courses at different levels of implementation by region
• Stimulate demand for additional training
FNGPF Goal
• Facilitator 1,500 FCFA
• Supplies 500 FCFA
• Rent training facilities 1,000 FCFA
• Contribution to cooperative’s capital 2,000 FCFA
Entrepreneurs pay a training fee of 5,000 CFA (USD 8)
30%
10%
20%
40%
Facilitator Fee
Supplies
Trainingfacilities
Cooperativecapital
Case Study: Senegal
FNGPF Training
Case Study: Senegal
Fees and Costs Kept Low by: • Organizing training sessions locally• Holding sessions after lunch• Recycling some of the supplies (pencils, erasers,
etc.)• Using “in-house” facilitators
Training Provided from December 2001-March 2002• 158 women trained in GEC cooperative in Thiès • 4-5 day sessions
Fees & Costs
Case Study: Senegal
• Increased enterprise revenues• Improved household budgeting• Understand the big picture• Worthwhile use of time• Valuable - Worth paying for• Additional training desired• Skepticism of value of training
changed by personal experience
Impact
Lessons Learned• Need a relevant training tool and the ability to
facilitate learning using this tool. – Increases their capacity as an entrepreneur to offer a
valuable service.– Having a training tool provides trainers with a skill and
increases credibility, especially with peers.
Building the Capacity of Service Providers
Lessons Learned
• Training materials must:
have relevant content, interest participants, be easy to use, be low maintenance.
Building the Capacity of Service Providers
Business Development Services
• Skills training• Market research & linkages• Accounting and financial management • Technical services • Brokering networks• Communication services• Management consulting
Any “non-financial” service to business offered on either a formal or informal basis - such as:
Business Development Services Model
Uses both supply and demand side interventions to develop market for BDS
Donor
Private ServiceProvider
Facilitator
Entrepreneurs
Services
$
$
Lessons Learned• Develop the capacity of local suppliers to deliver
training.– keeps costs low– access to & knowledge of the market
• Build trainers’ business planning skills in order to develop their own business plan for offering training in a sustainable manner.
Building the Capacity of Service Providers
Lessons Learned
Fees• Participants’ enthusiasm for training increases their
willingness to pay fees• “Hook” entrepreneurs with a “taste”• Important to reduce training costs to keep fees
affordable to entrepreneurs• Fees can be modest and still profitable
– Eg. rural areas, women, youth
Service Providers Offering Sustainable Training
TrendsInternal• Continued and increased charging of fees• Increased reach• Greater outsourcing• Using internal trainers as external service providers• Continued product innovation and expansion
Service Providers Offering Sustainable Training
TrendsExternal• Delivery of training to entrepreneurs where delivery
paid by funders (why turn your back on the cash cow?)
• Growth of contracting directly with entrepreneurs• Increased revenues from this area of training• Increased specialization
Service Providers Offering Sustainable Training