Presenter: Wendy Rimer Microenterprise Conference BYU Program for Economic Self-Reliance

1. Building the Capacity of Service Providers to Deliver Effective and Sustainable Enterprise Training Presenter: Wendy Rimer Microenterprise Conference BYU Program for Economic Self-Reliance March 14, 2003

2. Presentation Overview • Overview of Making Cents • Business Development Services Model • Case study: FNGPF • Case Study: Peace Corps Senegal • Lessons Learned • Trends: Looking Ahead

3. What is Making Cents? • Small woman-owned consulting firm established in 1998 and based in Washington, DC. • Specializes in increasing the capacity of financial and business service providers to better deliver services to micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs worldwide through: • the provision of innovative experiential methodology training materials, and • training of trainer courses.

4. What is Making Cents? • Making 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 15 languages (including Spanish and Portuguese) and have been used in 24 countries.

5. BDS Model

6. Service Providers and their Beneficiaries • Trainees • Urban and peri-urban low-income women • National traders’ credit union • Micro and small entrepreneurs operating manufacturing and service businesses • Technical colleges and skills training programs • Vocational training programs • Unemployed youth and adults • Peace Corps volunteers and Community Partners • Trainers trained: • Local consulting firms • Individual consultants • Business associations • Microfinance institutions • NGOs • Schools • Training centers • Government agencies

7. Capacity Building of Service Providers • Supply effective curriculum • Experiential methodology • Minimal adaptation • Effective approach • Straightforward to facilitate • Training of Trainer course • Facilitation • Adaptation • Integration

8. Methodology Training of Trainers course Making Cents Trainer Service Providers/ Trainers Entrepreneurs

9. Case Study Fédération Nationale des Groupements de Promotion Féminine (FNGPF) Network of Associations for Women’s DevelopmentSource: Interviews conducted with program directors Sept. - Oct. 2002

10. Case Study Capacity Building of Service Providers DynaEnterprises $ (75% support)  Service Provider  Making Cents (technical assistance)

11. Case Study: FNGPF FNGPF Overview • Mission: Expansion of 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 • 54 Savings and credit groups (called GECs) • Support collective or individual enterprises • 2 million + members in network • 7,000 women’s groups • Serve all regions of Senegal

12. Case Study: FNGPF • Challenge/Problem FNGPF is trying to address: • As economic activities move from buying and selling to transformation and production (e.g. turning raw material into products for sale) • Problems in the areas of organization, management, financial planning and control. (Lack of basic business skills) • Creates a threat that entrepreneurs will not be able to reimburse GECs or default on loan. • FNGPF’s Response • 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

13. Case Study: FNGPF • Strategy • Develop internal capacity to deliver mgmt training to clients: • 8 FNGPF agents and 17 GEC managers trained. • Pilot training in Dakar, adapt for local use. • If successful, offer courses at different levels of • implementation by region. • Stimulate demand for training based on quality, • relevance, and affordability. • Generate Additional revenue through sale of training services to other organizations. • Trainers paid at a commission as an incentive for delivering training.

14. Case Study: FNGPF • TRAINING • Entrepreneurs pay a training fee of 5,000 CFA (USD 8) • Facilitator 1,500 FCFA • Supplies 500 FCFA • Rent training facilities • 1,000 FCFA • Contribution to GEC’s • capital 2,000 FCFA

15. Case Study: FNGPF • 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

16. Case Study: FNGPF • Feedback from Entrepreneurs • Content • Relevant and applicable learning • planning • book keeping • negotiation • marketing • pricing and costing • quality

17. Case Study: FNGPF • Methodology • Appreciated hands-on = interesting, easy to learn, not intimidating • Initial skepticism of value of training, changed with experience • Impact • Increased enterprise revenues • Improved household budgeting • Understand the big picture • Worthwhile use of time • Worth paying for • Additional training desired • Skepticism of value of training changed by personal experience

18. Case Study: FNGPFResults Some of the results of this strategy on the cooperative in Thiès: • Increase in membership base • Increase in savings level • Increase in portfolio outstanding 28% 102% 73%

19. Case Study Peace Corps Senegal Building capacity of service providers/ entrepreneurs to provide sustainable business skills courses Challenge: How to make fee-for-service training affordable

20. Case Study: Peace Corps Senegal Overview Making Cents provided Training-of-Trainers for 8 Peace Corps volunteers and 8 local Senagalese in April 2002.

21. Case Study: Peace Corps Senegal Objective • To train Senagalese with the business and facilitation skills to develop and run their own micro-entrepreneurs training service. • Volunteers would serve as “consultants” to the local Senagalese. Results • Example of one local Senagalese, Mr. Samb, who started own consulting business to provide business skills training. • Clients include: Youth associations and women’s associations of more than 3,000 members.

22. Case Study: Peace Corps Senegal Strategies for achieving sustainability • Provided training for 20 youth. Charged 2.000 FCFA (=US $3.50) to participate in training. • Members of women’s association are now required to receive the business skills training provided by Mr. Samb prior to receiving financing. (Financing provided through a grant to the Association from the Minister of Family and Children.)

23. Case Study: Peace Corps Senegal Feedback on Entrepreneurs “One woman and member of a youth association who received training from Mr. Samb said that after 3 years of attending trainings, nothing was as helpful as the training in Game Plan (Esprit d’Entreprise) that helped to clarify exactly what it takes to start a business.” Jennifer Hawkins, Peace Corps volunteer

24. Lessons Learned Building the Capacity of Service Providers • Develop the capacity of local suppliers to deliver training. • This helps to keep costs low which makes trainers’ services affordable to micro-entrepreneurs. • Local service providers have access to market because they live in the same communities. • Important to build trainers’ business planning skills in order to develop a business plan to offer training in a sustainable manner. • Helpful if management training compliments existing services

25. Lessons Learned Building the Capacity of Service Providers • 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 a young trainer with a skill and increases credibility, especially with peers. • Training sessions can be offered internally at very low cost if the right strategies are developed • Training materials must: have relevant content, interest participants, be easy to use, be low maintenance.

26. Lessons Learned Building the Capacity of Service Providers Trainers • Trainers motivated by financial incentive • Assists with quality and marketing • Capacity issues: • Use of cooperative managers (GEC) as facilitators became a problem due to their workload. • Solution was to find better educated (board) members not involved in management. • Training Materials must be easy to implement with little or no on-going costs. • With expansion, outsourcing may be necessary

27. Lessons Learned For Service Providers to Offer Sustainable Management Training 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 • rural areas

28. Lessons Learned For Service Providers to Offer Sustainable Management Training Market • Very broad • Great demand for training materials to provide business skills to the poor, who often can't read or write • Different trainers suited to different clients

29. Lessons Learned • Entrepreneurs • Willing to pay for training of quality and impact • Require “proof” that training is worthwhile

30. Trends: Looking Ahead Trends with Service Providers Offering Management Training • Internal • Continued and increased charging of fees • Increased reach • Greater outsourcing • Using internal trainers as external service • providers • Continued product innovation and expansion

31. Trends: Looking Ahead Trends with Service Providers Offering Management Training • External • 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