THE PROGAMME
 The Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) program is a management-training program with a focus on starting and improving small businesses as a strategy for creating more and better employment in developing economies and economies in transition.
THE GOALS
- The long term development goals of SIYB is to contribute to economic growth in general and the creation of more and better jobs in micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in particular.
- The short-term development goals are to strengthen local business development service (BDS) providers to deliver business management training that will make it possible for micro and small-scale entrepreneurs to start and improve their businesses thereby creating sustainable jobs for themselves and others.
THE HISTORY
 Improve Your Business (IYB) started as a training program - "Look After Your Firm" - developed by the Swedish Employers' Federation in the early 1970's. In 1977 the Swedish International Development Authority (Sida) funded a project within the ILO that adapted the original Swedish initiative to the needs of small-scale entrepreneurs in developing economies.
Start Your Business (SYB) was developed in 1991. Since IYB focussed on existing businesses, SYB was developed to address the needs of potential micro and small-scale entrepreneurs who wanted to start a business, but did not know how.
Start and Improve Your Business is today a globally recognized ILO trademark and the program has been introduced in more than 80 countries. Sida continues to be the main donor.
TARGET GROUPS
 The intended beneficiaries are potential and existing micro and small-scale entrepreneurs. Direct beneficiaries are Partner Organisations (POs), which go through a capacity building process before they provide SIYB training to entrepreneurs.
Partner organisations can be private or public sector, profit or non-profit business development service (BDS) providers, government departments, chambers of commerce, trade unions, quasi-governmental small enterprise development organisations, NGOs, business associations and consultancy companies.
To qualify as partner organizations, these institutions will usually have
- A mandate for small enterprise development
- A focus on supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises
- A portfolio comprising one or several business development services
- A track record in training
- Resources or access to resources
- Network linkages to other local business support services providers
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