SIYB related Guides and Publications

  Small Business Training to Improve Management Practices in Developing Countries: Reassessing the Evidence for 'Training Doesn’t Work'
This study revisits and reassesses the evidence for whether small business training works, incorporating the results of more recent studies. A meta-analysis of these estimates suggests that training increases profits and sales on average by 5 to 10 percent. The author argues that this is in line with what is optimistic to expect given the relatively short length of most training programs, and the expected return on investment from the cost of such training. However, impacts of this magnitude are too small for most experiments to detect statistically. Emerging evidence is provided on five approaches for improving the effectiveness of traditional training by incorporating gender, kaizen methods, localization and mentoring, heuristics, and psychology. Training programs that incorporate these elements appear to deliver improvements over traditional training programs on average, although with considerable variation. Given that training delivers some benefits for firms, the challenge is then how to deliver a quality program on a cost-effective basis at a much larger scale. Three possible approaches to scaling up training are discussed: using the market, using technology, or targeting and funneling firms.
     
  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.
      
  Getting entrepreneurship 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.
     
  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.
     
  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.
     
  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.
     
  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.
     
  Does the combination of vocational and business management training produce extra benefits? 
A comparative exploration of cases from the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Senegal and Vietnam 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.
     
  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.
     
  Access to Finance and Enterprise growth: Evidence from an experiment in Uganda
The following paper Access to Finance and Enterprise growth: Evidence from an experiment in Uganda authored by Nathan Fiala sets out to understand the challenges to business growth in Uganda, relying on a sample of 1,550 micro-enterprise owners from the Northern and Central regions.
     
  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. It is based on data of more than 10.000 SMEs in 6 countries.
     
  Synergies at Work: Does the combination of business training and access to finance produce extra benefits? 
Three case studies on using the ILO’s Start and Improve Your Business management training programme in combination with microfinance
     
   Assessment of the business service and training market in Myanmar
In June and July 2013, an assessment of the business services market for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Myanmar was conducted to generate a better understanding of the situation of business development services and business management training in the country. The assessment comprised a review of available studies, data and documentation, interviews and surveys of more than 300 MSEs in Yangon and Bagan. This paper reflects the findings of the assessment and provides recommendations on how to improve the business services market in Myanmar. 
     
  Sustaining the ILO-Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) Program in Sri Lanka
A case study to document the achievements and challenges in setting up and managing the SIYB Association between 2003 and 2007.
     
  Business Training for Entrepreneurs in Vietnam
An Evaluation of the Sida-supported Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) project.
     
  Access to SIYB training for people with disabilities. A Handbook for Organizers and Trainers in China
This manual for SIYB training organizations and trainers to implement SIYB training which is accessible to persons with disabilities, the first of its kind, is an attempt to respond to the requirements of the Convention.
     
  Commercially Sustainable BDS to Poor Customers - the case of Sri Lanka
This paper explores by means of theoretical and action research if it is possible to offer Business Development Services, such as management training to poor customers on a commercially sustainable basis.
     
 
Guide to Market Assessment for BDS Program Design

Guide to Market Assessment for BDS Programme Design