Running your own business is a dream for many people. It can be a route to independence as well as a way out of poverty – particularly when formal jobs are scarce.
But entrepreneurship isn’t easy. Having a good idea and turning it into a successful, sustainable business are very different things, and many small businesses fail because their founders lack basic business skills. However, training can help, and one of the ILO’s most successful initiatives is designed to do just that. It’s SIYB, or Start and Improve your Business, a suite of programmes designed to help people from all backgrounds, education levels and cultures start, build and improve their own businesses, including creating jobs for others. Since it started, in 1977, around 28 million people worldwide have been trained, including 12 million women.
It can also be a way out of poverty, particularly when formal jobs are scarce.
and one of the ILO’s most successful programs is designed to do just that.
the success of SIYB is attributed to three main aspects of the programme.
allowing for flexible implementation in different countries and regions.
-Let me start by saying thank you, Sophy, for having me and for this opportunity.
because before I joined the training, I was just doing business as usual.
The record keeping, it also helped me to identify an activity in my business
Yes, that is definitely something that SIYB and entrepreneurship training
For these groups, entrepreneurship is often an alternative economic pathway
One that is linked to the development of inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystems,
how many skills you have to have to be a successful entrepreneur, I think.
We haven’t got much time left, so let me give a final word to Ngoakwana.
or because they were finding it hard to find a decent formal sector job.
-Definitely. They should take up any opportunity that come on their way.
I hope you’ll also join us again soon for another Future of Work podcast.
Luisa Iachan is a Technical Officer at ILO on Inclusive Markets and Entrepreneurship Promotion.
Ngoakwana Seleka is an SIYB graduate and the Managing Director of Thabosilakhu Empire, a catering and baking company in South Africa.
Sophy Fisher is a Senior Communication and Public Information Officer in the ILO’s Department of Communication.