Difficult to sustain entrepreneurship training 

Projects may face challenges in delivering sustainable entrepreneurship training and follow-up. Many BDS providers rely on external financing and are donor-driven, meaning they employ tools and approaches as dictated by funding institutions. When working with national institutions their staff will likely have competing tasks. This means that if the methodology is too costly or time-intensive, it is less likely to be deployed continuously. Long-term resilience will likely require longer periods of support, but this also introduces a trade-off, as the programme wouldn’t be able to reach as many new enterprises if it also needed to maintain focus on already supported businesses.
 

Tips:
Assess adequate time and budget availability to ensure that the training is carried out and aligned with the intended methodologies. Have senior managers within the institution commit to allocating sufficient staffing time and resources. This reflects training time, as well as follow-up support for trained businesses and entrepreneurs.

Intensive in both time and resources

ILO BDS tools are intensive in terms of both time and resources, requiring the trainees and the institution to follow a weeks-long training process that increases the likelihood of business start-up and expansion. 
 

Tips:
A modular approach and adapted training schedules can either condense training times, or spread them across a longer period in shorter sessions. While this won’t necessarily bring down costs, it structures time based on the preference of the target group and training institution.

Focuses on quantitative targets 

From a donor perspective, approaches that showcase large numbers can be more attractive, even though the impact of training in terms of businesses started and sustained is not easily demonstrated or always evident in the project’s life cycle. 
 

Tips:
ILO BDS tools have been evaluated according to businesses developed and jobs created, gaining it recognition internationally. For instance, in Viet Nam, 56 per cent of female-owned businesses that had undergone SIYB training hired new employees in the months following that training (read full report). Using such cases can help make a case for investment in more time-intensive business training.

Challenging to sustain new enterprises

Building businesses takes time and requires ongoing support, particularly for new businesses and those with few resources. If new MSME owners hit a challenge they cannot overcome, or they are not making as much income as they initially thought (such as during the COVID-19 pandemic), they may need additional support to continue. Experience also shows that one-off cash grants are not sufficient to maintain businesses, particularly in volatile contexts that are characterized by shocks.
 

Tips:
Businesses require non-financial BDS and encouragement as they encounter difficult financial periods in their start-up. This includes continuous follow-up support. The provision of finance itself also requires sustained access through credit and loan institutions, accompanied by close monitoring. The programme in Lebanon indicated that those who obtained loans showed more resilience. The provision of cash grants worked best when there were MSME experts involved to analyse business plans and reinforce sustainability plans in light of evolving crises.

Expectations and incentives

Overly generous incentives can also attract participants who do not intend to start or expand businesses but are primarily driven by cash incentives to attend training. Participation can also raise expectations among the target group for high daily allowances, seed finance and related benefits.
 

Tips:
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 sequenced after training is complete.