Matsung Longkumer, a 30 year old youth was part of the Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) training that was conducted from the 7th to 18th December last year in Kohima, Nagaland. The training was conducted by Skills and Empowerment Foundation, a partner organization of the ILO for implementing its flagship micro and small enterprise development programme - SIYB. Matsung had done his higher secondary school in Dimapur, Nagaland, and had undergone a short six months computer hardware and networking course. But once he completed his education and his training, he found no suitable job or entrepreneurial avenue in Dimapur. He decided to move to Kohima with the hope that the city will provide him a better opportunity for starting his own business related to computer repairing and networking. His family was supportive and helped him put together a small fund to purchase a computer and set up his own office. A tiny room with bare necessities was his workspace as he lacked the resources to afford commercial rents in a buzzing market area. Once he had his office up and running, he realized that he lacked critical business skills. Competition in the market was stiff. A year passed by and he barely scraped through.

Matsung started out with offering ‘home services’ to his clients which involved going and repairing computers at the clients’ homes. It was a good business idea but it failed to earn him enough income. Finally, Matsung learnt about the SIYB training from a youth group in his village and immediately got enrolled. The transition post the SIYB training has been dramatic. Matsung now is a confident and well-networked business man. He has been able to streamline his operations, market his business through brochures, and has even been able to set fixed rates for each of the repairing job. Today, he earns 25,000 rupees a month by visiting his clients’ houses for computer repair work. " He has also been able to offer internet services to his clients. Seeing his business grow, Matsung employed a field executive on a commission basis. The executive gets." 

Matsung collected all the information about his clients’ needs and he also diversified his business. He started distributing locally-produced organic fruit juices and squash in Dimapur. This side business helped him earn a profit of 10 rupees per bottle of juice, which fetched him an additional income of about 4,000 rupees a month.

Matsung attributes his successes to the Improve Your Business (IYB) training course. IYB training is part of the SIYB programme package of ILO that responds to the different stages of enterprise development, starting with Generate Your Business Idea (GYB), Start Your Business (SYB), Improve Your Business (IYB) and lastly Expand Your Business (EYB).

The Start and Improve Your Business programme of the ILO is one of the largest global business management training programmes, implemented in more than 100 countries across Africa, Asia and South America. It helps small-scale entrepreneurs to start and grow their business, as a strategy to create more and better decent employment for both women and men. In India, the SIYB programme is being implemented in a number of states, in collaboration with different governmental agencies and civil society organizations through a network of more than 200 trainers and six master trainers.