Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) programme supports trainers to effectively implement entrepreneurial training and related follow up activities in Uganda

The Training of Trainers (ToT) was delivered to 39 individuals who wish to become ILO certified Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) trainers in order to conduct training for entrepreneurs in business planning and business management.

News | 01 April 2020
The Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) iis a business development tool developed by the ILO in the1980s. It is currently used in over 130 countries across the world to support men and women to start or grow micro, small and medium enterprises.

In Uganda, previous ILO Enterprise Development projects trained SIYB trainers and supported them to establish a business support organization: the Business Development Service Providers (BDSP) Network. At the end of 2019, with the support of the PROSPECTS Partnership, the BDSP Network trained 39 candidate trainers in Arua and Isingiro, two major refugee-hosting districts. The trainees completed this intensive SIYB training of trainers course in 10 days.

SIYB Participants in Isingiro, Pose for a photo

Participants are now ready to train entrepreneurs, to be identified among refugees and host communities in the two districts. The trainings included 11 women and 28 men, out of which five were refugees.

A forty-three old participant, Mr. Patrick Twesigye, who is partially blind and a member of Uganda National Association of the Blind (UNAB) said he was looking forward to training youth in this organization that has more than 2,000 members across the country.

The Moral Brotherhood and Neighborhood (MOBAN) Savings and Credit Cooperative Society is another organization that was represented at the training by its Manager, Mr. Gikwere Christopher Kalimba. The financial institution, based in Nakivale settlement (Isingiro district), serves both refugees and host community members.

Kalimba, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo says he will use the skills to equip his clients with business management to complement the financial services that they receive. His first target is a group of women living on the trade of cereals and legumes. “This is a group of 165 women. I will screen the group and target those who can read and write in English,” he added.

Ms. Driciru Centenary, a Community Development Officer in Arua district, aims to train refugees and host communities, some of whom have received government grants to start livelihood projects but do not have sufficient business management skills yet.

“In our district, our people receive grants under the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Development, Discretionally Development Equalization Grant and Youth Livelihood Fund. Some of these recipients are interested in business management training,” she said. “The challenge that I foresee is the language because the training materials are in English" she added.

Visit the photo gallery of the scoping missions to the two refugee-hosting districts targeted by PROSPECTS:

Uganda: Integrated market systems assessment in Arua and Isingiro