Stakeholders involved

• BDS providers,
• Trainer and Master Trainers,
• Cooperatives and
• SSEs, MSMEs

Guidelines 

• Combine both financial and non-financial support. This can make BDS training more attractive to entrepreneurs who might have experienced training fatigue, with an oversupply of theoretical skills training and undersupply of financial resources to put their knowledge into practice by starting a business.
• It is critical to ensure prospective participants understand that their participation is based on their intention to pursue business. In most cases, it is recommended that any financial component, such as loans or credit, be scheduled after the training is complete. Scheduling non-financial BDS before the provision of financial services helps ensure those with the intention of starting a business complete the training and access finance, and filter out those without this intention.
• Having an accompanying credit and/or loan product that is adapted to the needs of the target group can improve the outcomes for trained entrepreneurs.
• Partner with financial institutions that are able to serve refugee run businesses.
• In the absence of access to commercial banks, viable alternatives include microfinance, savings and loan cooperatives (SACCOs) and village savings and loans associations (VSLAs). Find out more about the different types of financial services in Financial inclusion.

Stakeholders involved 

• ILO technical specialist,
• BDS providers,
• Government representatives (national),
• Chambers of industry,
• Chambers of  commerce,
• Community-based organizations (including refugee- and youth-led organizations)

Guidelines 

Adapt BDS tools, materials and programmes to meet the needs of refugee contexts

• Adapt enterprise training tools, such as SIYB, GET Ahead and SCORE, to local contexts. Adaptions should reflect:
• refugees’ legal right to start a business in the host country;
• seasonal needs of agriculture-related enterprises;
• specific risks and challenges faced by agricultural and other seasonal businesses.
• Translate tools into the most commonly spoken languages, use examples that have cultural relevance and align content with national legislative frameworks and policies (such as business registration).
• Adapt tools for application in specific sectors and settings, such as urban or in-camp settings
• Adapt the materials for populations with limited literacy. In Sudan, for instance, an implementing partner supporting BDS estimated that as many as 25 per cent of trainees could not read and write, so the programme teams had to adapt the materials to feature less written content – by, for example, incorporating games and videos.
• Consider adding new modules and complementary guides that tailor services to a specific theme or population group, thereby increasing usefulness. For example, in Egypt, the team adapted the complementary SIYB training tool Digitalize your Business, based on the emerging opportunities for MSMEs as part of Egypt’s digital transformation.
• Work with community-based organizations, including those that are refugee- and youth-led (RYLOs), to help adapt the training content and methods of delivery for these groups, as well as reach and engage them.
• During times of crisis, when economic shocks are likely to have the greatest impact on MSMEs, focus may need to shift towards business continuity and measures for resilience, rather than new business start-ups. Direct financial assistance in the form of grants and vouchers may also become necessary in the crisis and immediate post-crisis stages.
• Develop training and coaching programmes on business continuity and resilience to help business owners sustain operations and retain workers in times of crisis. For example, in Uganda, the PROSPECTS team took advantage of the window of opportunity the pandemic presented for formalization to create a training module, Formalize your Business, in partnership with the ILO International Training Centre. This focuses on helping businesses formalize through training and mentorship.

Ensure financial sustainability of providing BDS training 

• When programme teams roll out BDS with national institutions or ministries, any assumptions about financial sustainability should be clarified and mutually understood during the inception phase.
• Identify and address human resource and financial costs of ongoing support or mentoring.
• Refer to funding models developed by the ILO to continue services with limited reliance on external financing. Suggested solutions include:
• training financed by the public sector, either as part of the government budget, or earmarked under special programmes that promote entrepreneurship and start-ups;
• training financed by the private sector, either as part of corporate social responsibility efforts or out of commercial interest in developing a market and intermediaries for its services;
• mixed approaches, whereby organizations work together to co-finance or match contributions;
• Further reading: What works for sustainability in entrepreneurship training delivery?