Empowering Marginalized and Vulnerable Populations through Community-Based Entreprise Development (C-BED)
The project aimed to assist ILO Constituents and local partners in providing effective, low cost training and support on entrepreneurship and business development in vulnerable and at-risk communities, such as People Living with HIV, sex workers, LGBT, and men and women with disabilities.
Project details
Duration
1 January 2013 - 31 January 2015
Development partner(s)
ILO/Japan Fund for Building Social Safety Nets in Asia and the Pacific
Location
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos PDR
Additional details
Project Objectives
The overall project objectives were –- Improve employment opportunities for poor, vulnerable and marginalized groups through access to skills training on enterprise development;
- Empower vulnerable groups to start or improve their businesses through the new skills acquired;
- Create an enabling environment for entrepreneurship through establishment and strengthening of networks of implementing social safety net services, providers of working capital, and participants from vulnerable groups.
About C-BED
C-BED is unique because of the ‘learning without a trainer’ methodology that is applied through a peer to peer, activity-based group model. Participants work together in small groups to solve problems and through sharing existing knowledge and experiences, entrepreneurs are able to help each other understand formal business concepts, like costing or marketing, and develop stronger skills for business improvement. While the programme was originally designed to target aspiring entrepreneurs and micro and small business owners, the training tools are designed to accommodate any individual with an interest in the relevant training topic. Further, as the program has evolved new training tools have been developed in the areas of rights, organizing, and empowerment and are intended for a broader target group.Project Partners
Workers and employers organizations, international non-government organizations, local community-based associations.Target Groups
Aspiring entrepreneurs and micro and small business owners from vulnerable populations including People Living with HIV, sex workers, LGBT, the rural poor, refugees and asylum seekers, out of school youth, home-based workers, and women and men with disabilities.Main Activities
The project maintained a strong focus on developing and customizing new training tools for vulnerable groups in different settings. Implementation strategies varied in response to needs on the ground and partnership arrangements. Technical assistance was provided to partners in designing and delivering programs that made investments in local capacity and ownership of target communities so that activities could be sustained beyond the life of the project without the need for external support. Each pilot of the training and associated evaluation and technical work contributed to the formulation of planning and programming recommendations in work at the local, national, and sub-regional level. Each pilot also contributed to the social and economic empowerment of vulnerable communities through the new skills developed.Project Outcomes
The project resulted in:- 1,615 entrepreneurs from poor, vulnerable and marginalized communities accessing training on business development with 94% receiving such training for the first time;
- 141 organizations across three countries received capacity building on the C-BED training methodology and orientation to the programme curriculum and tools;
- Established a community of practice network for information and knowledge exchange among institutions/organizations working on entrepreneurship, income generation, and livelihoods;