News

e-SIYB tools: The introduction of new digital tools in the SIYB Programme

Briefing note

Latin American SIYB Network Webinar

Challenges for business development services provision in the context of Covid-19.

Article

Ukraine grants loans to entrepreneurs and opts for ILO business training package

In February 2020 Ukraine launched a state programme to give affordable loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The 80 Mio USD scheme is designed to enable the creation and expansion of small businesses, and includes a training module. To train the next generation of entrepreneurs, the government chose to go with the ILO Start and Improve Your Business methodology.

Video

SIYB programme in Chihuahua

The SIYB Programme was implemented in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico with great results. Take a look at testimonials of training participants in this video!

Global highlights

SIYB Update 2019

The “Start and Improve your Business (SIYB)” Update 2019 is out! The SIYB family is constantly growing and this year’s update features news from 41 countries, as well as info on new global developments, and a sneak peek of things to come…

SIYB Success stories

SIYB trainings can make a difference! The SIYB Global team is proud to showcase the “SIYB success stories”: stories of 10 inspiring entrepreneurs from around the globe who, with the help of Start and Improve your Business trainings, have launched and developed their small enterprises. Learn about the inspiring stories of Sun from China, Amira from Egypt and 8 other selected SIYB entrepreneurs.

Video

Employment and Peacebuilding for ‘Youth at Risk’ in Lebanon

In Lebanon, the ILO uses “My First Business”, an adaptation of SIYB for Arab youth, to help Lebanese and Syrian refugee youth to start joint-income generating initiatives as a way to create employment opportunities and decrease tension among host communities and Syrian refugees. Check out this short video to learn more about the project and its impact.

Guide

A rough guide to entrepreneurship promotion in forced displacement contexts

Forced displacement is becoming increasingly global in scope and protracted in nature, mak¬ing it critical to devise innovative responses. Entrepreneurship promotion constitutes one such response. This rough guide provides initial practical insights and recommendations for practitioners seek¬ing to implement entrepreneurship promotion programs in forced displacement settings. Whether you are experienced in the field of entrepreneurship but are new to refugee contexts, or you are a seasoned humanitarian prac¬titioner taking a recent interest in entrepreneurship promotion: this guide is for you.

A guide for business plan competitions

Getting entrepreneuship contests right

May 2019

Business Plan Competitions have been gaining momentum and are increasingly used as a tool to encourage entrepreneurs to explore new business ideas, start up their own company or bring to scale a business. This document was developed to provide guidance to practitioners and partner organizations on how to run a business plan and similar competitions in a simple and straightforward manner. In doing so, the guide draws on experiences from Egypt, Kenya, South Africa and Yemen as well as on external literature.

Business competition

SIMUKA-PHAKAMA
Is your business ready to leap and go green?

The Simuka-Phakama Green enterPRIZE Innovation Challenge aims to identify green, growth oriented enterprises through annual competitions and provide the winners with technical support to develop and create more and greener jobs, while improving existing ones. Targeted SMEs will expand their green products and services through a business development programme supported by strategic alliances with business development service (BDS) providers and financial institutions.

Global highlights

SIYB update 2018

Brief

What Works In a Market-Oriented Strategy for SME Development - Evidence From Myanmar

While BDS market facilitation has been regarded as priority in development programmes, seldom has it been operationalized into tangible activities and results. The incentives for projects to directly deliver and pay for services offered to beneficiaries in order to meet the targets are strong. This brief explains how the BDS market facilitation approach was implemented for two projects in Myanmar and presents the results and key achievements.

Brief

The Next 15 Million: Entrepreneurship Training At Scale – New Data On The Global Outreach Of ILO’s Entrepreneurship Training

A global tracer study on the ILO’s entrepreneurship training program Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) showing that global outreach more than doubled in the past five years. With 15 million participants SIYB is the most popular entrepreneurship training program.

Publication

Does the combination of vocational and business management training produce extra benefits?

There is growing evidence that the combination of services work better than a single service delivered in isolation; exploring cases in this area and finding the best way of managing combinations is thus of high relevance for the design of job-creation initiatives.

Publication

Green Business Booklet

Going green is not only good for the environment, but makes business sense too, as the greening of enterprises results in improved access to markets, higher productivity and cost savings. The Green Business Booklet is part of the Green Jobs packages and the Start and Improve Your Business series of products and helps aspiring entrepreneurs to come up with a green business idea and existing entrepreneurs to green their businesses.

Evidence

What works in Entrepreneurship

This new website summarizes the results of recent studies on what works in youth employment, including interesting findings on the impact of entrepreneurship training programmes.

Event

2016 Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition

The winners of the Competition in the categories Best Ideas 2016 and Best Projects 2016 were announced in the Entrepreneurship Summit in Berlin in October 2016. Enter to this section to see the winners of the competition.

Article

Business Practices in Small Firms in Developing Countries

This independent study uses the contents of ILO's Improve Your Business (IYB) training curriculum to measure whether improved business practices have an impact on enterprise performance in small enterprises.

SIYB Success stories

SIYB trainings can make a difference! The SIYB Global team is proud to showcase the “SIYB success stories”: stories of 10 inspiring entrepreneurs from around the globe who, with the help of Start and Improve your Business trainings, have launched and developed their small enterprises. Learn about the inspiring stories of Sun from China, Amira from Egypt and 8 other selected SIYB entrepreneurs

Guide

A rough guide to entrepreneurship promotion in forced displacement contexts

Forced displacement is becoming increasingly global in scope and protracted in nature, mak¬ing it critical to devise innovative responses. Entrepreneurship promotion constitutes one such response. This rough guide provides initial practical insights and recommendations for practitioners seek¬ing to implement entrepreneurship promotion programs in forced displacement settings. Whether you are experienced in the field of entrepreneurship but are new to refugee contexts, or you are a seasoned humanitarian prac¬titioner taking a recent interest in entrepreneurship promotion: this guide is for you.

A guide for business plan competitions

Getting entrepreneuship contests right

Business Plan Competitions have been gaining momentum and are increasingly used as a tool to encourage entrepreneurs to explore new business ideas, start up their own company or bring to scale a business. This document was developed to provide guidance to practitioners and partner organizations on how to run a business plan and similar competitions in a simple and straightforward manner. In doing so, the guide draws on experiences from Egypt, Kenya, South Africa and Yemen as well as on external literature.

Global highlights

SIYB Update 2019

The “Start and Improve your Business (SIYB)” Update 2019 is out! The SIYB family is constantly growing and this year’s update features news from 41 countries, as well as info on new global developments, and a sneak peek of things to come…

THE NEXT 15 MILLION
SIYB Global Tracer Study 2011-15

This study traces the outreach of the "Start and Improve Your Business" (SIYB) programme and some other key achievements, including estimates of its impact. The report has been prepared for practitioners in enterprise development who want to use SIYB, as well as any other organization or individual engaged in entrepreneurship and management training.

Brochure

Start and Improve Your Business Brochure

SIYB is one of the largest global business management training programmes. It helps small-scale entrepreneurs to start and grow their business, as a strategy to create more and better employment for women and men.

What Works in SME Development

The What Works in SME Development Series is presenting key findings of interventions promoting small and medium enterprises as a means to create more and better jobs. It covers ILO programs as well as interventions of other agencies using ILO products.

Publication

Synergies at Work: Does the combination of business training and access to finance produce extra benefits?

This paper presents three cases in which SIYB business management training was offered as an added service to clients of microfinance institutions. Understanding the costs and benefits of providing such a combination of services, both for the institution and for clients, will help development practitioners determine whether to invest in such an intervention.

Publication

SIYB Implementation Guide

The SIYB Implementation Guide is intended as a practical tool to support the introduction and roll out of SIYB activities at country level. It provides step-by-step guidance for the successful implementation of SIYB.

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