Development of new ILO enterprise development tools announced

c-bed

Two new core C-BED (Community-based tools for enterprise development) training packages have been developed by the International Labour Organization for aspiring entrepreneurs (AE) and for small business owners (SBO).

C-BED packages are community-based training methodology that builds on the  knowledge and experience of entrepreneurs  without external trainers or resources.

The Aspiring Entrepreneurs (C-BED AE) package had been designed for individuals interested in starting a new business. The training helps these would-be entrepreneurs to identify and develop new and different business ideas. They will identify the existing demand, available resources and the skills and learn how to do a strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT) analysis for their business idea and their community. After working through activities on four key business concepts, participants will reflect on the lessons of the training and document concrete steps they can take toward starting their own business.

The Small Business Operators (C-BED SBO) package is designed for individuals with existing businesses that they intend to improve, strengthen and grow.  Participants are introduced to an example of a fictional family business through which the give key principles of marketing are discussed, namely product, place, price, promotion and people. Aftermoving through activities on bookkeeping, productivity, understanding the customer base and costing, participants will identify ways to track problems in the business and prioritize ways of addressing them.

A third package has also been developed, the C-BED for Manufacturers , intended for medium-sized entrepreneurs and addressing a range of workplace considerations for the industry.

C-BED was used in 2014 in Leyte and other Haiyan (Typhoon Yolanda) affected areas to provide government agencies and international organizations involved in livelihood and rehabilitation initiatives with easy and accessible training tools.

Click here for more information on C-BED. 

Photos:  www.ilo.org/manila