News Archive
All news items older than about three months are stored here in chronological order. Please be aware that some of the links may no longer work!
ILO Guide for Value Chain Analysis and Upgrading [30 April 2007]
Available in English and French
The purpose of the guide is to look at how to practically carry out value chain analysis, find upgrading solutions and implement them, using an ILO approach towards upgrading. The structure of the guide is divided into two sections: The first part gives an example for the value chain approach towards upgrading, as well as explanations for basic concepts. The second part is all about putting theory into practice: it is divided into five modules that outline a kind of project approach with real outcomes at every stage.
It can be downloaded at http://www.bdsknowledge.org/dyn/bds/bdssearch.details?p_phase_id=545&p_lang=en&p_phase_type_id=6
The Next 4 Billion: [30 April 2007]
Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid
Four billion low-income consumers, a majority of the world’s population, constitute the base of the economic pyramid (BOP). New empirical measures of their aggregate purchasing power and behavior as consumers suggest significant opportunities for market-based approaches to better meet their needs, increase their productivity and incomes, and empower their entry into the formal economy.
Capacity building for business information networking [30 April 2007]
Publication form UNIDO on business information
The rapid advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) have far-reaching effects on both government and business operations. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) need to have access to adequate information to enhance productivity and facilitate market access. However, in most developing countries, the SME sector is suffering from inadequacies in the provision of business information, which is only available from stand-alone institutions, often slow and cumbersome to access, limited in scope and not provided in an integrated manner. Moreover, access to information is insufficient; SMEs need tailor-made information solutions, i.e. business information services that assess, verify and apply information to a specific business problem. From there the UNIDO developed a programme that "creates value added by bringing together information from different sources and transforming that information into solutions, including ICT and e-business support, in order to enable the integration of SMEs in national and global value chains."
SME cluster and networking development [30 April 2007]
A new unido publication from UNIDO
Individual SMEs experience difficulties in achieving economies of scale in the purchase of such inputs as equipment, raw materials, finance and consulting services and are often unable to take advantage of market opportunities that require large production quantities, homogenous standards and regular supply. Small size is also a constraint on internalization of functions such as training, market intelligence, logistics and technology innovation, while preventing the achievement of a specialized and effective internal division of labour....
Read more at http://www.unido.org/userfiles/PuffK/SMEbrochure.pdf
Making markets work better for the Poor [30 April 2007]
Value Chain Toolbook Available for Testing and Refinement
Making Markets Work Better for the Poor, in conjunction with a number of partners has just finished drafting a first version of the toolbook on pro-poor value chain analysis, with primary aim of making it accessible to practitioners in the field. The toolbook is called \“Making Value Chains Work Better for the Poor\”. The toolbook is designed as a concise document aimed to provide value chain practitioners with an easy to follow set of tools for value chain analysis, focused on poverty reduction. Whilst there are a number of handbooks on Value Chain analysis already in existence, the aim of this toolbook is to bridge the gap between value chain analysis and pro-poor development. Hence the tools that are presented in the toolbook are similar to those presented in other handbooks, but the main special feature of the toolbook is that within each of the tools there is a clear focus on how to apply the tool in order to analyze the impact of the value chain from the point of view of the poor. The toolbook is now available in both Vietnamese and English to individuals and organizations interested in participating in an international testing and refinement program.
If you are interested in testing that toolbook, check additional information at http://www.markets4poor.org/m4p/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=137&Itemid=1&lang=en
Value chains for broad-based development [12 April 2007]
International conference, 30-31 May 2007 Berlin, Germany
GTZ is organising an international conference on the above topic. The official invitations and the final programme are available since beginning April 2007.
Some information is already available at http://www.value-links.de
BDS - L'actualité des services aux entreprises: [23 February 2007]
Numéro 12, deuxièmesemestre 2006
Le numéro 12 intégral de la revue "BDS - Actualités des services aux entreprises" est disponible en ligne sur le site du MAE: http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr (- Rubrique: Aide au développement; Instruments de l'aide; BDS-Actualité des services aux entreprises)
ou sur le site du Gret: http://www.gret.org/ressource/bds.asp
Glossaire bilingue français/anglais de l'appui à la petite entreprise [23 February 2007]
English french glossary for small enterprise development
Il se compose de 42 fiches détaillées dans les deux langues, d'un lexique d'une centaine de termes spécialisés et d'une bibliographie commentée.
Découvrez-le dès maintenant en ligne à l'adresse: http://www.gret.org/ressource/resume.asp?cle=317
Les BDS: L’Actualité des services aux enterprises [23 February 2007]
Traduction des articles les plus récents en matière des services aux entreprises
Les principaux articles et analyses postés sur le site anglophone 'BDS knowledge' administré par l'OIT sont traduits.
Mis en ligne sur la page: http://snipurl.com/1b5d8
New practical guides availalble online from the CIAT [23 February 2007]
Participatory approaches to agroentreprise development
Three guides are provided by the CIAT, which presents the approaches they developed for the promotion of rural agroentreprises.
They can be downloaded at: http://www.ciat.cgiar.org/agroempresas/ingles/index.htm#goodpractice
Annual ILO Seminar on Developing Service Markets and Value Chains [23 February 2007]
Held in Thailand, 18-22 September 2006
All the documentation from the seminar is available at: http://snipurl.com/1b5d0
Creating better business environments - Asian and global lessons for donors [23 February 2007]
Bangkok, Thailand: Nov to Dec 2006
All available Presentations and Papers from the Bangkok Conference on reform of the business environment in Asia are posted on www.businessenvironment.org
Direct link: http://snipurl.com/1b5cx
Donor approaches to pro-poor value chains [23 February 2007]
By the donor committe for entreprise development
The Working Group has commissioned a study on Donor Approaches to Supporting Pro-Poor Value Chains, by Tilman Altenburg, which was published in its final form in January 2007
Making Value Chains Work for the Poor: Current thinking and future opportunities [21 September 2006]
Place and date: Gerzensee (near Bern), Switzerland, January 11 and 12, 2007
Pre-announcement and pre-registration now available.
Deadline for pre-registration : September 30th, 2006
Further information ../2007/wks-sed/
Local and Regional Economic Development to Overcome Poverty in Asia [20 September 2006]
Vientiane, LAO PDR, 22 to 24 November 2006
Representatives of various public and private institutions from the region as well as bilateral and multilateral development organizations will present and discuss concepts of LRED, highlight empirical evidence of their contribution to poverty reduction and exchange successful approaches and instruments from their work.
More information is available at: http://www.lred.info/
Etudes BDS: 4 rapports [11 September 2006]
sont disponibles sur notre site web maintenant
- Etude BDS Afrique, Rapport méthologique
- Etude BDS Afrique, Rapport Bénin
- Etude BDS Afrique, Rapport Burkina Faso
-Etude BDS Afrique, Synthèse comparative Bénin, Burkina Faso, Ghana
New link: WorkSavvy! Business Startup [21 August 2006]
The website www.worksavvy.ws provides you with helpful information on the following topics
Support for the would-be & early-stage entrepreneur, guidance on personal & business plan development; getting your business to start sooner, grow stronger and last longer; free material on business startup and how to get help & advice - cost-effectively.
The link is http://www.worksavvy.ws
Community Mobilisation & SHG Formation for Economic & Integrated Development [21 August 2006]
9th international workshop
Date: September 27th – October 1st, 2006
Place: Agra, India
In the mission towards development process, AIDMAT invites you to the above event. It will be a great opportunity to meet delegates with dimensional experiences from multi cultural regions. There are early bird group offers prevailing and the seats are limited.
For a detailed brochure and a nomination form for enrolment please contact:
(Ms) Anupama
Senior Manager – External Linkages
IDMAT
(Mobile) (0091) 9899 69 7483 mailto:anupama@aidmat.com
Is Youth Entrepreneurship a Necessity or an Opportunity? [27 July 2006]
A First Exploration of Household and New Enterprise Surveys in Latin America
"Young people who start new enterprises are creating jobs for themselves and reaching their personal goals. However, lack of experience and resources mean that a high per-centage of these efforts fail during the first few months of operation. To reduce the failure rate of youth enterprises and address critical issues during the start-up process, the public and private sectors are increasing their efforts to support young people by providing training, technical assistance and small credits..."
Read the full story at: http://www.iadb.org/publications/search.cfm?language=English&topics=PS-PYM
Inter-American forum on MICROENTERPRISE - Quito, Ecuador - September 13-15, 2006 [27 July 2006]
Access to new markets and better services for the majority
The title of this year's Forum reflects the increasingly important issue of ensuring that micro and small enterprises have access to new markets for their products, whether local or international, and to better financial and enterprise development services to support their pursuit of valuable business opportunities and improved livelihoods. The Microenterprise Forum 2006 will explore the issue of access to markets and services, as well as several other issues that are relevant and critical to the microenterprise sector, and numerous practitioners and experts in the field will present the latest developments, best practices and new methodologies.
Read on: http://www.iadb.org/foromic/
Making markets work for the poor: putting the poor at the heart of economic development [13 July 2006]
Bern, 17th may 2006
The employment and income division organised a one day seminar on the above topic.
A note summarising the content of the day and all the material distributed that day are now available online in the products section.
Actualités des services aux entreprises [13 July 2006]
le numéro 11 intégral de la revue BDS est en ligne
Ce premier numéro de l’année 2006 inaugure une formule un peu différente, que nous avons pu découvrir au cours de ces six premiers mois, privilégiant davantage l’actualité.
Ce numéro multithématique comprend les textes les plus récents sur quelques sujets phares et expériences concrètes des services aux petites entreprises dans les pays en développement. Des tendances en matière de développement du secteur privé au rôle du facilitateur, en passant par l’évolution de l’industrie agroalimentaire mondiale et ses répercussions sur les filières internationales, les différents textes de réflexion proposés permettent d'appréhender les dernières évolutions et les débats actuels dans ce domaine du développement en mutation.
La revue est disponible à: http://snipurl.com/t5xb
Bangkok Conference on Reform of the Business Environment - Call for Papers [13 July 2006]
Bangkok 28 November to 1 December
The linked document provides some background on the conference and describes its main objectives and topics of interest. This document also invites donor agencies, governments, private sector representatives, non-government organizations, consultants and academics to submit a brief proposal for any papers they wish to present at this conference. The deadline for proposals is Wednesday, 26 July 2006.
A Participatory and Area-based Approach to Rural Agroenterprise Development [13 July 2006]
a strategy paper by CIAT
This publication provides an overview of CIAT's approach to rural agroenterprise development. The participatory and area-based or "territorial" approach is derived from a number of methods and tools that have been developed by the Rural Agroenterprise Development project team and its partners through project work in Latin America, Africa and Asia over the past 10 years. The aim of this set of methods and tools is to meet the entrepreneurial development needs of service providers.
"From Idea into Action" [13 July 2006]
The implementation and metamorphosis of the BDS concept, GTZ, 2006
This publication is a product of a Task Force of GTZ’s network. It traces the metamorphosis of thinking in the enterprise development community and more specifically within GTZ over the last 10 years. It shows how an organization that embraces change is able to significantly contribute to the emergence of a new agenda based on market development approaches to increasing the access of the private sector to better and more effective services from public and private organizations. We hope that you will appreciate this candid and analytical reflection of our learning process.
Read on: http://www.bdsknowledge.org/dyn/bds/bdssearch.details?p_phase_id=525&p_lang=en&p_phase_type_id=6
Making Service Markets Work for the Poor [13 July 2006]
Some key links
This entry will be used to post interesting links and documents relating to Making Service Markets Work for the Poor - in health, education and many other service markets. The entry is not proposing an ideological position, but rather, a pragmatic one: how can public funds best be used, given that the private sector is already providing a wide range of services to poor people?
Read on: http://www.bdsknowledge.org/dyn/bds/bdssearch.details?p_phase_id=474&p_lang=en&p_phase_type_id=6
Starting my own small business [13 July 2006]
Entrepreneurship Training guides produced by UNESCO
Starting my own small business is a prototype modular training package that helps learners acquire an entrepreneurial mindset and the knowledge to set up a small business. By promoting economic self-reliance and the need to play a constructive role in the community, the training also aims at human capacity building, a key element of sustainable development.
Read on: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46786&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
7th Annual Seminar on Business Services: Private Sector Development - what's next? [13 July 2006]
Chiang Mai (Thailand) - 18 to 22 September 2006
The Annual Seminar has become an opportunity for field-based practitioners to catch up, quickly and enjoyably, with the latest thinking at the global level, in many areas that touch on their work. As in previous years, the agenda is being put together by Jim Tanburn and Aly Miehlbradt; themes to be covered in the 2006 Seminar include:
- Opportunities at the "Base of the Pyramid"
- Developing post-crisis economies and markets in pro-poor ways
- Current thinking in developing financial markets
- Learning from service markets in OECD economies
- Stimulating services in very weak and rural markets
- Selecting market interventions for maximum leverage
- Reforming the business environment to enhance competitiveness
- Assessing impacts on small businesses and poverty
- Current thinking in value chain development
- Financial service markets - and BDS
Read on: http://learning.itcilo.org/entdev/BDSSEMINAR/pub/home.aspx?l=Eng&IdSezione=0
Libérer l'entrepreneuriat [29 March 2006]
le rapport du PNUD maintenant disponible en français
Ce rapport examine comment le monde des affaires peut créer des emplois et des revenus, libérer l'entreprenariat et aider à atteindre les Objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement.
Rapport à télécharger à: http://www.undp.org/cpsd/report/
Toolkit for private sector development [29 March 2006]
available online from UNDP
This toolkit represents a small technical step, building on previous and ongoing work that will support UNDP's ability to programme in this area. The aim is to assist programme officers working in domestic PSD, and others who are interested in the area, to gain understanding of the PSD paradigm and to structure the analysis they carry out in designing programmes and projects in line with UNDP's mission and oriented towards attaining the MDGs.
Read on: http://www.undp.org/psd-toolkit/
Does corruption produce unsafe drivers? [29 March 2006]
a new report from the world bank
The answer is yes. This study generates new evidence that corruption makes everyone worse off ? countering arguments that corrupt payments at least help to make things happen. The study shows that the majority (69%) of people acquiring driving licenses in New Delhi and paying "agents" to "help" them with the process are unsafe drivers. Corruption here puts their lives and the lives of by-standers in danger
Read on: http://rru.worldbank.org/PapersLinks/resources.aspx?id=6792
Micro, small and medium enterprises database [29 March 2006]
Last update available
This database gathers publicly available country-level data on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and presents them in an easily accessible format. This initiative is a work in progress, with updates and improvements made as new data become available. The most recent update adds historical data and business environment indicators.
Read on: http://rru.worldbank.org/PapersLinks/resources.aspx?id=6358
Private Sector Development: What's next? [29 March 2006]
The next ILO seminar in Thailand - 18-22 September 2006
Moving out from a strict BDS perspective, the ILO organises this year's seminar in Thailand again (as in 2004)
Relevant and up to date information is already available on the website below http://tinyurl.com/zxz9b
Launch of international Private sector Development Research Competition [29 March 2006]
Supported by IFC and the Financial Times
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Financial Times (FT) have launched a new annual international private sector development research competition to encourage and promote fresh, innovative thinking about the role of the private sector in development. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is a global investor and advisor that is committed to promoting sustainable projects in its developing country members --- projects that are economically beneficial, financially and commercially sound, and environmentally and socially sustainable.
More information at: http://www.ifc.org/competition
Women and Entrepreneurship [29 March 2006]
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2005 Report now available
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2005 Report on Women and Entrepreneurship is based upon survey data from more than 107,400 respondents in 35 countries. The Report gives a clear indication that while women entrepreneurs often exhibit patterns of behavior similar to those of men, a gender gap nonetheless exists for entrepreneurial activity across the globe. Women most likely to be entrepreneurs are those who hold jobs, have higher levels of household income and education, and have confidence in their level of skill and in the possibility of their success
Download the report at: http://www.gemconsortium.org/
Better Financing for Entrepreneurship and SMEs [20 March 2006]
OECD Conference in Brasilia, Brazil on 27-30 March 2006
This conference aims at advancing the global SME and entrepreneurship agenda by bringing together the key stakeholders: SMEs, the financial community and policy makers
More information available at: http://www.oecd.org/document/30/0,2340,en_2649_33956792_35898590_1_1_1_1,00.html
Value Chain for Rural Development [16 March 2006]
Syntheses from the Community of Practice
Following 6 cycles of discussion on 6 different topics about value chains promotion for rural development, a compilation of the insights from the discussion is now available. Willing to know more about what conceptualists and practitioners think and do in this domain?
Then have a look at: http://www.sdc-valuechains.ch/index.php?navID=153
Private Sector development blog [16 March 2006]
The world bankgroup developed a blog addressing various issues of private sector development. Certainly worth a visit and a bookmark in your browser.
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2005 Executive Report [16 March 2006]
Now available
This report constitutes the seventh annual assessment and review of the state of entrepreneurship in countries participating in the GEM project. Since its inception in 1999 by scholars at Babson College and London Business School, GEM has developed into one of the world?s leading research consortium concerned with improving the understanding of the relationship(s) between entrepreneurial activity and national economic growth. To this end, the project has, from the start, been designed as a multinational research program providing annual assessments of the entrepreneurial sector for a range of countries.
Future events in BDS [16 March 2006]
A comprehensive list on bds knowledge.org
Have a look at the extensive list of forthcoming events on the BDS knowledge website
http://www.bdsknowledge.org/dyn/bds/bdssearch.details?p_phase_id=241&p_lang=en&p_phase_type_id=6
Building the capacity of business membership organisations [16 March 2006]
Guiding principles for project managers
"Business Membership Organizations" (BMOs) generally refer to various organizations where companies or individual entrepreneurs are members - such as chambers of commerce or business associations. BMOs can be a platform for promoting a better investment climate in developing countries. This toolkit tries to increase the effectiveness of BMOs by providing guidance on how to increase their capacity, analysis of internal management challenges frequently faced in BMOs, key reference documents and case studies that support the toolkit's findings.
Available here: http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/sme.nsf/Content/Publications
BDS - L'actualité des services aux entreprises [16 March 2006]
Lisez les brèves ainsi que le dernier numéro paru
La DDC contribue désormais financièrement à cet effort de mise à disposition d'information en français sur les sujets liés à la promotion de l'entreprise. Le numéro 11 est paru.
Disponible à l'adresse suivante: http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/actions-france_830/aide-au-developpement_1060/politique-francaise_3024/instruments-aide_2639/bds-actualite-services-aux-entreprises_13012/
Employment, Income and the MDG's [16 March 2006]
Critical Linkages and Guiding Actions
"Employment, Income and the MDG's - Critical Linkages and Guiding Actions". The employment and income section from SDC, in collaboration with its support mandate "Fauno" produced the paper cited above.
Download it at: http://www.deza.admin.ch/index.php?navID=21145&langID=1
Newsletter of the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development available [16 March 2006]
Get the monthly update from the SED docom
Training on SME Export Consortia Development [16 March 2006]
26-30 June 2006 , ILO Centre, Turin, Italy
The objective of this course is to provide practitioners in the field of SME and export promotion with the necessary knowledge and skills to promote export consortia.
Leaflet and additional information available at: http://www.unido.org/file-storage/download/?file_id=48198
Training on SME CLuster and Network Development: Principles and Practice [16 March 2006]
24 April to 5 May 2006: ILO Centre, Turin, Italy
The overall objective of the course is to provide practitioners in the field of SME and local economic development with the necessary skills to promote the development of "underachieving" SME clusters, networks and business associations.
Leaflet and additional information available at: http://www.unido.org/file-storage/download/?file_id=48197
Working Group on Linkages and Value Chains [16 March 2006]
expert group meeting on the 10-12 April 2006
During 2005, the Working Group generated a range of information resources, relating particularly to the relevant work of some member agencies. The Group also published an Information Resources Update in March 2005, covering various news items relevant to the theme.At the Annual Meeting in Cairo, in December, a proposal was discussed, and the Working Group subsequently made a presentation about progress so far, and plans for the future. Terms of Reference were developed, for hiring a consultant to review the work of member agencies in more detail, and to provide some insight into where there might be synergies or overlaps.
All information available at: http://www.sedonors.org/groups/group.asp?groupid=4
Regional Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility for SMEs [16 March 2006]
9-10 march 2006, Zagreb, Croatia
The concept paper and agenda are available at: http://www.unido.org/doc/18233
Small Business and corruption [16 March 2006]
a joint OCD-UNIDO expert group meeting will meet in Vienna Austria, 6-7 March 2006
The discussion paper is available at: http://www.unido.org/doc/18233
Actualités des services aux entreprises no 10 [21 February 2006]
Intégration des Micro et Petites Entreprises (MPE) dans les filières
Ce numéro traite des questions relatives à l'intégration des MPE dans les filières globales ou locales de production et de commercialisation, ainsi que de la problématique de l'évaluation d'impact des programmes d'appui à la petite entreprise.
Retrouvez les numéros de la revue en ligne: http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/actions-france_830/economie-mondiale_901/cooperation-economique_4108/
Donor Committee Conference: Reforming the Business Environment - from assessing problems to measuring results [27 December 2005]
Cairo, 29 November to 1 December 2005
The conference featured over 60 key notes speeches and presentations in 3 days. The conference communique is now available on the website specifically created for issues about the business environment. Most of the presentations from the conference and background papers are also available on this website.
Read on: http://www.businessenvironment.org
Making service markets work for the poor: some key links [27 December 2005]
The BDS knowledge website displays an interesting lists of documents presenting latest trends and approaches in this evolution of the BDS methodology. For anybody who wants to keep in touch with these latest evolutions on how to support entrepreneurship in a way that significantly alleviate poverty, this site is a must
Read on: http://www.bdsknowledge.org/dyn/bds/bdssearch.details?p_phase_id=474&p_lang=en&p_phase_type_id=6
The Management for Development Foundation (MDF) proposes a course on VALUE CHAIN CONCEPT [27 December 2005]
16th to 20th January 2006, Ede - Netherlands
Private Sector Development is increasingly acknowledged by governments, donors and development organisations to play an important role in alleviating poverty and in creating healthy economies. Value Chain Concept (VCC) is a multiple and participatory process that leads to co-ordinated interventions. VCC takes a holistic approach, which includes the identification and analyses of the most potential sectors; subsequent leveraged interventions and involvement of all the relevant stakeholders for the development of the sector. The course Value Chain Concept enables participants to avoid isolated direct interventions.
Read on: http://www.mdf.nl/en/training_course.php?country_id=nl&®ion_id=01&&course_id=VCC
Value Chain [27 December 2005]
some key links
The aim of this entry is to link visitors to some current events and documents on value chains - a burgeoning field. While value chain analysis has received much attention (see link to that entry, below), there is less consensus about how systemic the subsequent interventions should be. In other words, the value chain analysis may help practitioners to understand the system, but the challenge remains: how to enhance the operation of that system in ways that are both self-sustaining and pro-poor.
Read on: http://www.bdsknowledge.org/dyn/bds/bdssearch.details?p_phase_id=453&p_lang=en&p_phase_type_id=6
Enterprise Development - Defining the Field [27 December 2005]
Synthesis of a SEEP Network Online Discussion April 25 - May 3, 2005
From April 25 to May 3, 2005, the SEEP Network Business Development Services Working Group held an online discussion on how we define the term "Enterprise Development." How do terms used in the enterprise development/business development services (BDS) field help or hinder our work? What is enterprise development? How do we define different approaches within the field, such as BDS market development and value chain development? How can we best communicate about it with donors and other development partners?
Read on: http://www.bdsknowledge.org/dyn/bds/bdssearch.details?p_phase_id=475&p_lang=en&p_phase_type_id=6
Pro-poor Branding Labeling and Trademarks for Agricultural Products [27 December 2005]
Bulletin No 4 available at "Making markets work better for the poor"
The development of brands, labels and trademarks for Vietnamese products, especially agricultural ones, has been promoted in recent years. This has strong potential to increase the value and recognition of Vietnamese products in domestic and international markets. As the poor are involved in the production of many of these products, there is potential for these benefits to impact positively on the lives of the poor. However, it is important to recognize that the development of branding, labeling and trademarks for products should be considered as part of an overall package of upgrading of the value chain for products.
Read on: http://www.markets4poor.org/m4p/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=4&Itemid=5
News Flash 3, November 2005 [29 November 2005]
Impact Assessment + Performance Measurement in Small Enterprise Development (SED)
Now available ../products/download.php#newsletters
Making service markets work for enterprise competitiveness [update: 22 November 2005]
Place and date: Phuket, Thailand, 5th – 10th March 2006
This training session aims to provide answers to the question: how can governments and development agencies stimulate small enterprise competitiveness? Please note that the closing date for applications is 25 January 2006
The full brochure for the training is available at: http://www.springfieldcentre.com/currentprogrammes.php
First global study of high expectation entrepreneurship [22 November 2005]
A study published by the global entrepreneurship monitor
The first global study of high expectation entrepreneurship has found that just 9.8% of the world's entrepreneurs expect to create almost 75% of the job generated by new business ventures. The report defines high expectation entrepreneurship as all start-ups and newly formed businesses which expect to employ at least 20 employees within five years. These ventures have far reaching consequences for the economies in which they operate, particularly because of their impact on job creation and innovation.
EQxIS [22 November 2005]
Measuring social progress and equity in Latin America
The IDB has launched an initiative which measures progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Latin America and the Caribbean. The system, called EQxIS, helps to identify disparities in achievement of development goals among different groups of the population.
Read on: http://www.iadb.org/xindicators/
Market Information Systems and Agricultural Commodity Exchanges: [22 November 2005]
Strengthening Market Signals and Institutions
Place and date: Amsterdam/NL, 28-30 November 2005
The CTA Conference itself will discuss, over seven sessions, issues on the
new trade environment and the plight of smallholder farmers; marketing needs
according to governmental and trading entities, and farmers; innovations in
market information services; marketing tools to strengthen demand; and auctions,
warehouses receipts, and agricultural commodity exchanges. Participants will
come from the CTA itself, other advanced research organizations, and national
entities from 15 countries, including 8 in Africa and 3 in Europe.
Reforming the Business Environment: From assessing problems to measuring results [update 12 October 2005]
From assessing problems to measuring results
Place and date: Cairo, Egypt 29 November 2005 - 01 December 2005
The conference will allow participants to share their practical experiences
in the promotion of a business environment that is more enabling of small
enterprise development. Special attention will be given to creating an opportunity
for debate on key issues affecting the role of donor agencies in supporting
reforms of the business environment for small enterprises.
www.sedonors.org/events/event.asp?eventid=4
New: The Cairo Conference website can now be found at www.sedonors.org/cairo
SDC Small Enterprise Development (SED) Workshop [update: 09 November 2005]
Reforming the Business Environment: Current thinking and future opportunities
Place and date: Gerzensee (Bern) Switzerland - January 12-13,
2006
The now traditional SDC Small Enterprise Development (SED) Workshop is a learning
and networking event. It aims at presenting new trends and good practices
in the field of small enterprise development as well as allowing the participants
to exchange information and experiences. The workshop will be held in Gerzensee
- It is designed for SED specialists and programme managers, advisers and
project staff dealing with SED in the South and East. It is addressed mainly
to the staff of Swiss Development Organisations (SDC, NGOs and other private
organisations) or for consultants.
6th Annual BDS Seminar, Turin, September 2005 [12 October 2005]
Documentation from the seminar available
For those who did not have the chance to attend the annual seminar organised by the ILO, all the documentation is now available on the ILO BDS knowledge website. The reader and presentations of various case studies can be downloaded from:
Assessing the Impact of Business Enabling Environments [12 October 2005]
a collection of "HOW TO" notes from EDIAIS
On this page, practitioners will find a list of short notes giving hints on "How to harness the Private Sector for Pro-Poor Growth" or "How to Support Business Development Services". 8 different topics are already online.
Doing business in 2006 [12 October 2005]
the report from the World Bank now available
The Doing Business database provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement. The Doing Business indicators are comparable across 155 economies. They indicate the regulatory costs of business and can be used to analyze specific regulations that enhance or constrain investment, productivity and growth.
Committee of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprise Development [12 October 2005]
September newsletter available
Mapping the shift in Business Development Services [12 October 2005]
Making markets work for the poor
A new book from Malcolm Harper and Jim Tanburn illustrates the radical changes that have taken place in the evolution of assistance to small businesses. The editors show how the transformation has taken place and illustrate some of the critical issues that are facing business development practitioners today.
L'actualité des Services aux Entreprises [12 October 2005]
Les BDS facilitent l'accès des PME aux filières
Les deux derniers textes de l'actualité des BDS proposent une réflexion sur le processus d’amélioration des produits en vue d’intégrer des filières de production et de commercialisation. Ces 2 études de cas présentent comment des BDS adaptés peuvent favoriser l’amélioration du fonctionnement de l’ensemble d’une filière en s’attachant à donner les moyens pour les PME de les intégrer.
Étude du marché des BDS chez les artisans du cuir [PDF] et Les BDS au service de l’intégration des PME [PDF]
Benchmarking business regulations [20 September 2005]
now available in spanish
The Doing Business database provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement. The Doing Business indicators are comparable across 155 economies. They indicate the regulatory costs of business and can be used to analyze specific regulations that enhance or constrain investment, productivity and growth.
More information: www.doingbusiness.org/Default.aspx
Public Private Dialogue for Investment Climate Policy Reform [20 September 2005]
early february 2006
The World Bank Group and DFID are planning a Workshop on Public Private Dialogue for Investment Climate Policy Reform. It will be held in early February 2006.
Draft Concept Note: www.sedonors.org/resources/item.asp?resourceid=233
Small & medium enterprises [20 September 2005]
creating a positive business environment
The world bank group makes available a whole range of data and various documents addressing the issue of pro-SMEs policies. the issue of informality is also addressed as well as all the components taken into account when trying to promote the development of SMEs.
More information: rru.worldbank.org/themes/SmallMediumEnterprises/
Value Chains [20 September 2005]
Some key links
The aim of this entry is to link visitors to some current events and documents on value chains. While value chain analysis has received much attention, there is less consensus about how systemic the subsequent interventions should be. In other words, the value chain analysis may help practitioners to understand the system, but the challenge remains: how to enhance the operation of that system in ways that are both self-sustaining and pro-poor.
Please visit: www.bdsknowledge.org/[...]&p_phase_type_id=6
Mapping the market [20 September 2005]
A framework for rural enterprise development policy and practice, ITDG 2005
This paper lays out a framework and visual tool for "mapping" a rural market in which small enterprises and/or poor people are involved. The central component of the Market Map is the economic actors who actually own and transact a particular product as it moves through the market-chain from primary producer to final consumer. The second component of the Market Map is a charting of the cirtical factors and trends shaping the market-chain environment and operating conditions - the enabling business environment. The third component of the Market Map describes the services that support or could support the market chain's overall efficiency. The paper also describes a participatory strategy for conducting the market map analysis.
available at: www.bdsknowledge.org/[..]Griffith%202005.pdf [PDF]
Servicios de desarollo empresarial para fomentar la competitividad de empresas rurales [20 September 2005]
Diplomado en desarollo empresarial rural
Date and Place: 10 al 19 de octubre 2005, Costa Rica
Los participantes dominarán conceptos,metodologías y herramientas para responder adecuadamente a la demanda de las empresas rurales por servicios de desarrollo empresarial.
More information: www.bdsknowledge.org/[...]competitiveness.pdf [PDF]
Pro-Poor Growth in the 1990s: Lessons and Insights from 14 Countries [15 September 2005]
insights on how to increase the impact of economic growth on poverty reduction
The study presents evidence that underscores the importance of promoting strong and sustained growth as part of any pro-poor growth strategy. But at the same time, it also demonstrates the need to implement policies that enhance the ability of poor households to participate in growth.
Executive summary and full report available at: www.dfid.gov.uk/news/files/growth-poverty-study-launch.asp
Newsletter Number 7, July 2005 [08 August 2005]
Committe of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprise Development
The newsletter is available at:
Les BDS : L'Actualité des services aux entreprises [08 August 2005]
Le numéro 9 est maintenant disponible
Titre: L'appui à la commercialisation en milieu rural.
Cette édition de la revue de l'actuialité des services aux entreprises
s'intéresse au monde rural et plus particulièrement aux SAE
qui permettent aux petites entreprises rurales d’accéder aux marchés.
Trouver des débouchés à ces produits, répondre
à l’attente des consommateurs, éviter la dépendance
face aux grossistes ou encore améliorer la qualité des produits
sont des problèmes qui se posent aux petits producteurs. Fournir des
services de qualité et s’adapter à leurs besoins pour trouver
des débouchés à leurs produits sont les enjeux des fournisseurs
de services aux petites entreprises agricoles.
Download: www.gret.org/ressource/tout_bds.asp. Il est aussi possible de s'inscrire à la liste de diffusion gratuitement par simple envoi d'un e-mail à: bds-mae@gret.org
VIII interamerica forum on microenterprises [08 August 2005]
"Expanding the frontiers of microenterprises"
Date and Place: Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia from October
5-7, 2005
Every year more than 1000 practitioners from all over Latin America and the
Caribbean meet at the Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise to discuss the
latest best practices for the development of the microenterprise sector. The
event will provide practitioners with information through technical sessions
that are grouped in 4 different categories: Microfinance, Enterprise Development,
Business Environment, Social Entrepreneurship.
"From BDS market development to making markets work for the poor? How broad should we go?" [updated 16 June 2005]
Date and Place: 19th to the 23rd of September 2005, Turin (Italy)
Sixth annual BDS seminar of the ILO
Information for registration is available at: learning.itcilo.org/entdev/bdsseminar/
Enterprises solutions to poverty [16 June 2005]
A report released by the Shell foundation
The report argues that enterprise and business thinking must be placed at the heart of the war on poverty if we are really going to "Make Poverty History" in 2005. When there are more and more doubts arising on the capacities of the development community to achieve the Millenium Development Goals, the private sector and particularly Transnational Corporations tend to play a more important role in the fight against poverty. Real endeavour or public relations exercise?
The report is accessible at: www.shellfoundation.org/download/download.html
Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey in transition countries [16 June 2005]
Developped by the World Bank and the European Bank for reconstruction
The Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS), developed jointly by the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is a survey of over 4000 firms in 22 transition countries conducted in 1999-2000 that examines a wide range of interactions between firms and the state.
Guidelines for Assessing the Impact of Enabling Envrionment Programmes [16 June 2005]
An Integrated Impact Assessment Approach (IIAA)
DFID released a study on the impact of business enabling environment programmes which led to guidelines for such programmes.
Guidelines: http://www.enterprise-impact.org.uk/pdf/BEE-IAguidelines.pdf
Other documents: http://www.enterprise-impact.org.uk/BEEnvironments/DFIDdocs/BEEGuidelinesandHandbook.shtml
Manual Series on the Territorial Approach to Rural Agro-enterprise Development [16 June 2005]
4 manuals for service providers willing to promote rural enterprises now availalble online
This series of manuals, entitled Rural Agro-enterprise Development,
are designed to address the entrepreneurial development needs of institutions
that support rural communities. The six documents published to date include
the following topics:
- A strategy for Rural Agro-enterprise development
- Developing partnerships, territorial analysis and planning together
- Identifying market opportunities for smallholder producers
- Strategies to improve the competitiveness of market chains for smallholder
producers
- Collective marketing for small-scale producers
Downloaded at www.ciat.cgiar.org/agroempresas/ingles/manual_series.htm
Making BDS Markets Work for the Poor [16 June 2005]
GTZ/OECD PovNet 2005
This Paper aims to give an overview of the current thinking about BDS, and where it should be going in future. It presents an analysis of what has been presented in previous BDS Seminars, as an indication of current trends. The Paper concludes that more attention needs to be paid to impact assessment, and that meanwhile, the principles developed in BDS, around market development, are now being applied increasingly to other disciplines.
www.bdsknowledge.org/dyn/bds/docs/433/MakingBDSMarketsWorkforthePoor_0505.pdf
Conference on Fostering Entrepreneurship: The Role of Higher Education [14 February 2005]
Trento, Italy, 23-24 June 2005
This event addresses the role that higher education institutions play in fostering entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on Central, East and South-East European countries. It will bring together leading academics and experts, policy makers and the OECD to analyse two principal questions:
1.How can higher education institutes best provide entrepreneurship training and contribute more widely to developing an entrepreneurial culture amongst graduates?
2.How can higher education institutes best promote SME innovation?
Economic Growth in the 1990s: Learning from a Decade of Reform [25 April 2005]
Released by the World Bank
The World Bank has released a new study that analyzes economic
growth in the 1990s and the development lessons that can be drawn from the
reforms
undertaken during this period. The report reviews the growth impact of the
main policy and institutional reforms introduced in the 1990s, presents a
broad perspective on the events, country experiences, academic research and
controversies of the decade, and reflects on how this alters World Bank thinking
about economic growth.
Doing business with the poor [25 April 2005]
A field guide
This document gathers some practical guidelines for enterprises intending to engage in business with the poor. It presents options on how to develop and engage in new business opportunities and how to identify those win-win strategies where clever business models benefit both to the enterprises and to the poor.
Available in english and spanish at: www.wbcsd.ch/[...]ObjectId=NDY2Mg
Assessing the Impact of Business Enabling Environments [25 April 2005]
A new facility provided by EDIAIS
DFID and WISE Development are setting up this new facility for dialogue and exchange of information about programmes and interventions aimed at promoting stable and supportive enabling environments for private sector development, in particular small enterprises.
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report [25 April 2005]
The GEM 2004 report on women and entrepreneuship available
This is the first GEM cross-national assessment on women's
entrepreneurial activity. It includes 34 countries and focuses on three main
objectives:
- To measure the level of women's entrepreneurial activity across countries
- To understand why women become involved in entrepreneurial activity
- To suggest policies that may increase women's involvement in entrepreneurship
SEED Working Paper No.69 [25 April 2005]
Nepal & Pakistan - Micro finance and microenterprise development: Their contribution to the economic empowerment of women
This paper presents the findings of two surveys of women who as micro-finance clients were also engaged in microenterprise activities. The 2 studies endeavour to document and analyse the impact of micro-finance and microenterprise development on the economic and possible social empowerment of these women entrepreneurs. The findings show that micro-finance and microenterprise development may serve as a catalyst towards social change and improve the political and social status of women.
Make the markets work for the poor (MMW4P) [25 April 2005]
A workshop organised by DFID & ADB in Manila 15-16 february 2005
The objective of the workshop was to take stock of the MMW4P concept and the experience with its initiatives currently under way in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (supported by DFID and ADB); to inform and facilitate exchange of knowledge, practices and methodologies; and to help policymakers and professionals explore and operationalise the concept of making markets work for the poor.
documentation from the workshop available at: www.dfid.gov.uk/news/files/trade_news/adb-workshop.asp
L'actualité des services aux entreprise n°9 - textes 1 & 2 [25 April 2005]
"Changements institutionnels et organisationnels" & "Assurer la participation des petits producteurs"
Le premier texte examine 4 cas d'articulation de petits ou moyens producteurs du Sud (Vietnam, Thaïlande, Ghana) ou aux Pays-Bas avec des marchés relativement sophistiqués. Le second texte détaille l'expérience de la Thaïlande, où une chaîne de supermarchés cherche à s'assurer un approvisionnement régulier de fruits et légumes frais de qualité.
Abonnez-vous à la lettre d'information à l'adresse suivante pour recevoir le dernier numéro de cette revue: www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/[...]
SDC Community of Practice on Value Chains [25 April 2005]
Synthesis of the second round of discussion now available
The second round of discussion ended on the 28th of February and the synthesis is now currently discussed among the participants.
Synthesis and additional comments available at: www.sdc-valuechains.ch/index.php?[...]
Forum sur la PME en Afrique [25 April 2005]
3-5 mai 2005 à Cotonou au Bénin
Un forum sur les "incitants et les blocages à l'investissement de la PME en Afrique" sera organisé en mai 2005 par le RAMPE (Réseau Africain d'Appui à la Micro et Petite Entreprise) en collaboration avec PROINVEST.
Committee of Donor Agencies for SED [25 April 2005]
New website for the Committee of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprise Development
The committee has now a full-fledged website with detailed information on its various activities as well as a monthly newsletter.
More info at www.sedonors.org/
Business Enabling Environment [25 April 2005]
The inter-agency information and exchange website
This site aims at "sharing documents and information about donor-supported work to enhance the business environment to achieve pro-poor growth. A unique feature of this site is a focus on aspects of the Business Environment that discriminate against small firms; it also covers the overall approaches of governments to SME policies and institutions".
The Springfield Center has upgraded its website [25 April 2005]
Description of the courses proposed, publications available online, etc.
Final Report SDC SED workshop 2005 [update 15 February 2005]
"Effective Small Enterprises in the Context of Local Economic Development"
Took place: January 06 - 07, 2005
Report now available
Promoting Commercially Viable Solutions to Subsector and Business Constraints [14 February 2005]
May 16-20, 2005 in Dakar, Senegal
September 12-16, 2005 in Thailand
Action for Enterprise (AFE) is offering a series of five-day workshops that present state-of-the art methodologies for designing business development programs for micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs). Participants will learn how to design programs that result in commercially viable solutions to MSME constraints such as market access, input supply, technology/product development, management training, policy reform, and access to finance. Examples will be used from business development programs and practitioners worldwide. The training targets those who wish to improve their facilitation skills and design programs that respect the latest thinking in commercial approaches, including BDS, to enterprise development.
Registration for the Thailand workshop: actionforenterprise.org/register.htm
Inscription pour l'atelier de Dakar - Sénégal: actionforenterprise.org/register-f.htm
Les BDS : L'Actualité des services aux entreprises [14 February 2005]
Le numéro 8 est maintenant disponible
C'est l'ambition de cette huitième édition
de la revue "L'Actualité des services aux entre-prises" que
de dresser un tableau d'ensemble des SAE. Pour cela deux types de textes sont
proposés.
D'une part, une réflexion autour de textes portant sur les différentes
problématiques techniques et conceptuelles de l'appui à
l'entreprise : quels sont les principes à appliquer, que ce soit
en terme de viabilité, de partenariat, de pérennité du
service proposé, de conception du rôle des acteurs, des intermédiaires
? Plus largement, comment développer des marchés de services
aux entreprises : comment s'y prendre, comment analyser les données
financières des entre-prises, comment évaluer l'impact
de nos actions ? Les réflexions actuelles, les tendances et les grands
enjeux sont présentés.
D'autre part, les programmes gagnent en ampleur. Ils font de plus en plus
souvent appel à différentes compétences du Développement
: ils sont dits "intégrés", associent différents
champs d'action au sein d'un même projet. Les objectifs et les domaines
d'intervention du Développement sont mis en regard avec les SAE : quels
sont les liens entre l'appui aux entre-prises et la réduction de la
pauvreté ? Et la microfinance ? Et le développement rural ?
Et l'appui aux filières ? Autant de questions essentielles permettant
de situer notre travail dans une approche plus complète, plus intégrée
du Développement.
Download: www.gret.org/ressource/bds/pdf/bds8/integral.pdf [PDF]
Les BDS : L'Actualité des services aux entreprises [14 February 2005]
Les anciens numéros sont également disponibles
A l'occasion de la sortie du huitième numéro
de la revue, voici un récapitulatif des publications disponibles :
- N° 1 (4ème trimestre 2001) : principalement consacré aux
travaux du Comité des donateurs pour le développement de la
petite entreprise, notamment des synthèses faisant le point sur le
développement des marchés de services.
- N° 2 (1er trimestre 2002) : centré sur les modalités et
dispositifs de cofinancement des services aux entreprises avec notamment l'analyse
des deux principaux dispositifs existants : le cofinancement a posteriori
du recours par une entreprise aux services (matching grants) et les dispositifs
de chèques formation ou conseil (vouchers).
- N°3 (décembre 2002) : sur l'expérience des centres d'affaires,
qui ont pour vocation d'offrir un ensemble de services d'appui aux MPE.
- N°4 (février 2003) : traite des clusters et réseaux d'entreprises.
- N° 5 (juillet 2003) : approfondit la question de l'information pour
le développement des petites entreprises, notamment le lien avec les
technologies de l'information et de la communication.
- N° 6 (septembre 2003) : sur les liens entre tourisme solidaire et développement
du secteur privé.
- N° 7 (décembre 2003) : consacré aux modalités d'appui
à l'entreprenariat.
French publication on business development services "L'Actualité
des services aux en-treprises". Already published :
- 1. BDS markets
- 2. Vouchers and matching grants
- 3. Business centres and lik between BDS and poverty reduction
- 4. Clusters and networks
- 5. Business information services
- 6. Fair tourism and develoment of small enterprises
- 7. Entrepreneurship
All synthesis are in French. Links to the full versions of the original texts
can be found at the bottom of each pdf summary.
De plus amples détails sont disponibles dans une
synthèse [177 KB, PDF]
Tous ces numéros sont disponibles au téléchargement à l'adresse suivante: http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/[...]
Current State of the Art in Impact Assessment: With A Special View on Small Enterprise Development [14 February 2005]
Do we do the right things? Do we do them right?
Brigitte Späth, presents how in recent years impact assessment has become an increasingly important aspect of development activities. This is spurred by questions like: Do we do the right things? Do we do them right? The field of small enterprise development (SED) is no exception.
The document is available at: www.sdc.admin.ch/ressources/deza_product_en_1097.pdf [PDF]
The Global Entrepreurship Monitor report 2004 is available [14 February 2005]
Improving our understanding of the relationship(s) between entrepreneurial activity and national economic growth
This is the sixth annual Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) cross-national assessment of entrepreneurship. Started in 1999 with 10 participating countries, the project has expanded to include 34 countries in 2004. Over the years national teams have been in operation in 43 countries.
The GEM program focuses on three main objectives:
- To measure differences in the level of entrepreneurial activity between countries
- To uncover factors leading to appropriate levels of entrepreneurship
- To suggest policies that may enhance the national level of entrepreneurial activity
The report is available on: www.gemconsortium.org/
Diploma in Market Oriented Small Business Development Services [31 January 2005]
- Next session starting in February 2005
For many years, BDS for small enterprises have been heavily subsidised by
donors and governments. However, the current trend is towards market-driven
approaches to BDS. Sustainability of BDS providers, and full cost recovery
by charging fees to small enterprise clients, are now the watchwords for donor
facilitated BDS programmes. Small enterprise consultants face the challenges
of designing, marketing and delivering BDS products that the market will pay
for. This diploma course offers practical training in how to do this. It is
intended for practitioners working for organisations that provide BDS to small
enterprises, though staff of BDS facilitators can also find value in the course.
For more information: www.itcilo.org/bds
New COP on Value Chains in Rural Development [16 December 2004]
SDC has launched a community of Practice on Value Chains in Rural Development. This effort brings conceptualists and practitioners together, who are interested in both sharing and learning from experiences and ideas. Participants are welcome to get into the discussions and debates at: www.sdc-valuechains.ch
"The Donor approaches to improving the business environment for small enterprises" [16 December 2004]
This report presents the findings of an investigation into the concepts, approaches, and practices donor agencies apply in their efforts to improve the business environment in which small enterprises operate.
Available on the Committee of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprise Development website: www.sedonors.org/html/events.html
Two pilot projects on capacity building [16 December 2004]
In Lexhe, Albania and Kamenica, Kosovo
The european training foundation, in cooperation with the Italian government, is supporting two pilot projects in Lexhe, Albania and Kamenica, Kosovo, whose objective is to promote capacity building of local development agents in economic development and job creation. Both projects were presented on 18 November when their strategies and forward planning were shared at an international symposium in Prishtina.
European Training Foundation survey [16 December 2004]
E-learning has a high potential in the Balkans
E-learning is at an initial stage, but good examples of practice can be found in many Western Balkans countries. This is one of the main outcomes of the extensive survey conducted by the ETF in the Western Balkans on technology-enhanced learning and the use of ICT in education. The survey was presented on 3 December 2004 by the ETF Director Muriel Dunbar at the international conference Online Educa Berlin. The survey highlights that public awareness on the importance of e-learning is still low, systemic data and information collection need to be strenghtened, as well as specific teacher training.
Read more at: http://www.etf.eu.int/WebSite.nsf?[...]
Idmat workshop on Creating BDS Markets [16 December 2004]
24th to the 29th December 2004 in Malaysia
Idmat is organising its 3rd international workshop on Creating BDS Markets — Opportunities & Challenges
More information at: http://www.aidmat.com/idmat/3bds4.htm (just a huge image on a slow server - could take a long time to load!)
Reports of the annual BDS seminar available [16 December 2004]
The annual BDS seminar organised by the ILO has been convened in Thailand this year and followed by a study tour in Bangladesh. The thematic focus was: developping commercial markets for BDS - pioneering systemic approaches. The reports of these 2 events are available now
http://learning.itcilo.it/BDSSEMINAR/pub/archivio/corsi.aspx?p=13&f=129 (Look at the top right corner "past seminars" for getting older documents)
ILO site on the Programme SIYB updated [16 December 2004]
Start & Improve Your Business
Lots of information available, with particularly the description of the content and methodology of the programme and a database with the contacts of master trainers. There might be some very close to you! Have a look at
Session de formation en technique d'élaboration de plan d'affaires [16 December 2004]
en Janvier 2005 à Ouagadougou
Cette formation fait suite à celles organisées sur les diagnostic de petites entreprises en Mai 2004 à Ouagadougou au Burkina Faso. 47 paticipants de 27 structures issues de 7 pays avaient pris part à cette formation
Informations complémentaires à venir: http://www.rampe.org/contact.php
Managing Business Development Services For Increased Impact (Course A950381) [25 October 2004]
How to improve the outreach, impact and sustainability of organisations providing business development services International Training Course of the ILO
Arusha, Tanzania, 6 - 17 December 2004
The overall objective of this course is to improve the effectiveness of enterprise development organisations providing business development services (BDS) to medium-sized, small and micro enterprises, measured in terms of take-up, outreach, impact and sustainability.
This event is open to participants from all countries. To apply, candidates
need to complete the registration form and send it to sme@itcilo.it
(or by fax to +39 011 693 6564/693 6589) together with a detailed Curriculum
Vitae supported by a letter of sponsorship.
All additional information as like programme description and the participants' ideal profile can be ordered by email: sme@itcilo.it
"Doing Business in 2005: Removing Obstacles to Growth" [27 September 2004]
Report issued by the World Bank
It is the second in a series of annual reports investigating the scope and manner of regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. New quantitative indicators on business regulations and their enforcement can be compared across 145 countries - from Albania to Zimbabwe - and over time.
It can be ordered on publications.worldbank.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=1384970
Report from the annual meeting of the SEDonors [27 September 2004]
Hold in Cartagena, Colombia from September 13-14, 2004
A report describing the donor approaches to improving the business environment for small enterprises is available
Two seminars from the International Institute for Development Management Technology [27 September 2004]
- Creating BDS Markets - Opportunities & Challenges;
10th - 16th December 2004, Malaysia
- General Management Program for Business Service Providers; 25th November
- 10th December 2004, India & Nepal
More informations to come on: www.aidmat.com/idmat/programs.htm
Inter-American Development Bank awards [27 September 2004]
Cartagena de Indias, Colombia
The Inter-American Development Bank awarded its annual prizes for microenterprise development to a leading Colombian foundation, a rural credit and education organization in Bolivia, a Peruvian credit union and a Paraguayan social entrepreneur.
More on: www.iadb.org/NEWS/Display/PRView.cfm?PR_Num=192_04&Language=English
The International Small Business Congress will be hosted by Poland this year [27 September 2004]
This annual event has a tradition for over 30 years
The aim of the Congress is to promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, to initiate international business co-operation and to emphasise the role of SMEs in the social and economic development of individual countries. The accomplishment of this objective is possible through the wide participation of delegates from various countries all over the world representing both business organisations and business owners themselves, as well as representatives of policy makers whose decisions affect SME development.
More details on the congress website: www.isbc2004.pl
Microcredit European Conference, Finance for Small Enterprises [06 September 2004]
September 21-23, 2004 in Brussels, Belgium
The European Commission, in partnership with among others the European Microfinance Network (EMN), the NEFI (Network of European Institutions for Small and Meduim Sized Enterprise) and the Microfinance Centre, holds a Microcredit European Conference on September 21-23, 2004 in Brussels, Belgium. The event addresses the difficulties faced within the EU by small enterprises when seeking access to finance and consists of a plenary session, training sessions and workshops.
Info: europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/events/microcredit/ or entr-microcredit-conference@cec.eu.int
Trainings by ILO [22 July 2004]
ILO is proposing a whole range of SED and BDS trainings in various places in the world. Have a look at our link for training for more information or go directly their website
ILO training website: intranet.itcilo.it/Calendar/Courses.nsf/...
Two new courses by CATIE [28 June 2004]
Offered in August and September 2004
Two international courses will be offered in August and September this year at the headquarters of the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), Turrialba, Costa Rica. The courses deal with the theme of rural agroenterprise development. The courses should help strengthen the capacities of providers of business development services, both public and private, to confront the major challenges of rural agroenterprise.
The details are available at: www.ciat.cgiar.org/agroempresas/ingles/
Workshop on Gender Equity & Micro Enterprise Development [28 June 2004]
28th June untill the 4th July 2004
the International Institute for Development Management Technology is organising the 7th International Workshop on Gender Equity & Micro Enterprise Development from the 28th June untill the 4th July 2004, in Mauritius.
For more information please go to: www.aidmat.com/idmat/gender.htm
Enterweb [28 June 2004]
Updated again!
The enterweb page have been dormant from April 2002 till April 2004, but it is now well updated. This knowledge portal for Small Business displays a great quantity of information on topics such as entrepreneurship, management, finance, marketing, technology, etc. The site is both in French and English.
Committee of Donor Agencies [28 June 2004]
September 2004
The annual Meeting of the Committee of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprises will be held in September 2004
Creating enterprises in Latin America and the Carribean [2 June 2004]
Taking place: 24th of June
Jointly organised by the inter american developement bank and Fundes
The details and tentative agenda available at: www.iadb.org/sds/mic/Entrepreneurship.agenda.pdf [PDF]
Istanbul Ministerial Conference on Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship [2 June 2004]
Hold in Istanbul, Turkey from 3-5 June
Government ministers, experts and entrepreneurs from more than 80 countries will meet for a landmark conference aimed at encouraging the development of small businesses and harnessing their capacity to boost economic growth
More information on: www.oecd-istanbul.sme2004.org
Providing Low-Cost Information Technology Access to Rural Communities in Developing Countries - What Works? What Pays? [2 June 2004]
OECD working paper
The costs of ICT provision to rural areas tend to be higher than to more densely populated urban areas, and the ability to pay of potential subscribers lower. In recent years, a number of interesting experiments has been initiated to extend low-cost telephone and, in some cases, internet access to low-income rural communities. This paper reviews some of these, with a particular emphasis on whether they are likely to prove financially sustainable
Paper: www.oecd.org/dataoecd/13/52/7112502.pdf [PDF]
UNCTAD published its New Least Developed Countries Report 2004 [2 June 2004]
This report focuses on linking International Trade with Poverty Reduction
International trade is vital for poverty reduction in all developing countries. But the links between trade expansion and poverty reduction are neither simple nor automatic. The purpose of this Report is to clarify the links and to contribute thereby to a better understanding of the national and international policies that can make international trade an effective mechanism for poverty reduction in the least developed countries (LDCs)
Brochure with further information: http://www.unctad.org/Templates/webflyer.asp?docid=4810&intItemID=3074&lang=1&mode=downloads
BDS Seminar [19 May 2004]
The BDS Seminar will be held this year in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, 27 September to 1 October 2004 inclusive.
The Study Tour will be to BDS projects in Bangladesh, 3-6 October 2004.
Brochure with further information: learning.itcilo.it/bdsseminar/pub/Eng/FlyerEN.pdf [PDF]
E+I Net in Berne, Switzerland, 5 May 2004 [12 May 2004]
Does SME Cluster Development Contribute to Poverty Reduction? The presentation was held by Mr. Michele Clara (UNIDO)
An excellent and interesting presentation especially on 2 regards:
1. The real endeavour/serious attempt to combine the cluster approach with poverty reduction (working on the side/with the traders and on the side of the producers (labourers)
2. The deep insight and wide experience of the referee and the hands on approach from UNIDO
For furher information, please consult the policy
brief [PDF] (a comprehensive policy paper will follow later on)
Many more information and links about clusters are available on the UNIDO webpage: www.unido.org/doc/4297
VII inter-american forum on microenterprise [12 May 2004]
8th, 9th and 10th of September 2004
Taking place in Cartagena de Indias - Colombia. Organized by the Inter-American development bank
For more information, please go to: www.iadb.org/foromic
7th Workshop on Gender Equity & Micro Enterprise Development [29 Mars 2004]
27th May - 2nd June, 2004, Mauritius
Context
Women constitute not only half of the world's population but also sway the
growth of the remaining half. They produce half of the world's food supply
and account for 60% of the working force but comprise only 10% of the world's
economy and surprisingly own less than 1% of the real estate. They have little
access to productive resources and negligible control over family income.
This discrimination is the result of gender bias, which forms an inherent
part of the global society.
Objectives
· Develop gender sensitivity vis-à-vis participation of women
in Micro Enterprise Development.
· Examine the processes of Gender inequality and their disfunctionality
affecting the participation of women in micro enterprises.
· Understand the processes of promoting MED through active participation
of women.
· Acquire skills of identification of potential women entrepreneurs
and learn designing and conducting enterprise development motivation training
for them.
· Be able to explore various learning mechanisms to set up Micro-Enterprises
and update the methods of managing activities, develop tools and instruments
for effective monitoring and evaluation of promoted entrepreneurs.
For more information: www.aidmat.com/idmat/gender.htm
Minutes of the Annual Meeting ... [19 April 2004]
... of the Committee of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprises
Hold on September 15-16, 2003 are available now...
http://www.sedonors.org/Minutes_of_the_Annual_Meeting_of_the.htm
SED Workshop 2004 [26 January 2004]
Small Enterprise Development (SED) Workshop 2004.
Gerzensee, 08-09.01.2004
"Opportunities and limits of the BDS approach in rural area"
A learning and networking event aiming at debating the BDS approach on its capacity to promote employment and income in rural areas.
The workshop will be held in Gerzensee - It is designed for SED specialists
and programme managers, advisers and project staff dealing with SED and/or extension in rural areas, in the South and East.
New Website on Business Development Services [31 October 2003]
The ILO has launched a new website dedicated to Business Development Services (BDS). A wide range of documents is available for downloading, including methodologies, guidelines, manuals, background documents, etc. The site content puts a particular focus on country studies and activities. The structure of the site is built around the life cycle phases of a typical BDS market development project: Market Assessment; Project Design; Implementation; Impact Assessment; Final Documentation.
Visit the website at www.ilo.org/dyn/bds.
Doing business in 2004 [31 October 2003]
In Australia you can register a business in 2 days; in Haiti you need 203. In Denmark, you don't pay anything to start a business, while in Cambodia you pay 5 times income per capita. In Tunisia, you can enforce a contract in 7 days; in Guatemala this takes more than 4 years. Credit information systems have credit histories on almost every adult in New Zealand, Norway, and the United States, but cover less than 1 percent of the population in China, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Resolving bankruptcy takes six months in Ireland but more than 11 years in India.
These dramatic differences are highlighted in a new, annual publication from the World Bank Group, Doing Business in 2004: Understanding Regulation
L'actualité des services aux entreprises - Février 2003 [10 September 2003]
Il semblerait qu'un certain nombre des participants à la liste de diffusion de " l'Actualité des services aux entreprises " n'a pas reçu la quatrième édition de la revue portant sur les services d'appui aux clusters et réseaux d'entreprises. Nous vous renvoyons donc ce quatrième numéro. Avec toutes nos excuses pour les personnes ayant déjà reçu cette publication.
Download
[
, 446 KB]
CD Rom on Gender-oriented Entrepreneurship Promotion Strategies and Tools along the Project Cycle [13 March 2003]
Part I: Guidelines - Strategies and Methods
Part II: Toolkit - Worksheets, Questionnaires and Tables.
Published by: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC, Employment and Income Division, January 2003
Author: Claudia Ulrike Gminder
This electronic manual offers the chance to access real-life experiences about
women entrepreneurship promotion (WEP) gathered from numerous projects around
the globe. By providing practice-oriented tools, it makes successful strategies
for gender-oriented entrepreneurship promotion replicable and applicable.
The first part (Guidelines) focuses on the strategies and tools of the WEP project
cycle: planning, implementing and monitoring. The second part (Toolkit) presents
concrete worksheets and forms for practitioners who want to use the tools presented
in Part I.
Recorded as a special PDF-file, the manual enables users to interactively
"jump"between corresponding chapters and topics of both parts. Additionally,
part II is also included as a MS-Word file, which allows users to adapt worksheets
and questionnaires to their exact needs and to the specific circumstances
of a project.
The CD-Rom is available via sed@intercooperation.ch or the manual can be downloaded
Sustainable Management in SMEs [13 August 2003]
1st International Congress on Sustainable Management in Action/ SMIA03 4th - 6th September 2003, University of Geneva, UNI MAIL
The following themes will be presented:
- Guides for sustainable management.
- Practical tools for the management of social responsibility in SME's
- Internet tools for SME's
- Linking to research and to financing of SME's
- Eco-purchases from SME's by major private and public companies
- Financing of sustainable SME's via Venture capital
- Support for the launching of SME's
- Programme SMALL, presented by INEM (International Network for Sustainable Management)
- Coaching of SME's by major companies (Programme of the Prince of Wales Business and Leaders Forum)
Contact: hklun@smia03.org
Preliminary programme and inscription form: www.smia03.org
VI Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise [27 June 2003]
"How Do We Confront Changes and Manage Risks for Micro & Small Enterprises".
Guatemala City, Guatemala, 3-5 September, 2003
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will hold its VI Inter-American
Forum on Microenterprise "How to Confront Changes and Manage Risks for
Micro and Small Enterprises" on September 3 - 5, 2003 in Guatemala.
Participants
can choose sessions from the following tracks:
- latest innovations in microfinance and risk management that are increasing
the flow of risk capital;
- current business development services strategies that are promoting entrepreneurship,
the development of clusters and outsourcing;
- enabling environment that is reenergizing and promoting the development
of small and micro enterprises;
- social entrepreneurship.
Interested practitioners, academics, and researches
can submit papers that respond to the panel discussions.
Deadline for receipt of proposals.
Info: www.foromic.org
Tentative programme: www.iadb.org/foromic/agenda.asp
Turin Reader Website Announcement [12 May 2003]
The ILO announces the fourth annual seminar on: "Business Development Services : Testing the Guiding Principles".
Turin - Italy, 08 to 12 September 2003. Direct access to the seminar information: http://training.itcilo.it/bdsseminar/Turin_Seminar/tcourse03.htm
For general information about the BDS seminars and study tours: http://training.itcilo.it/bdsseminar/.
(Unfortunately the ILO-Website requires Macromedia Flash technologie!)
SDC SED workshop 2003: "Small Enterprise Development and Empowerment" [07 March 2003]
This year's workshop on "Small Enterprise Development and Empowerment: The entrepreneur and his/her capacity to influence the decisive conditions for the success of his/her enterprise" encountered again the high interest of around 80 participants, coming from various postions in support to small enterprise development such as SDC Headquarters in Bern, various SDC-Coordination Offices, Swiss NGOs and SDC financed programs in various regions, especially in Western Africa. The conceptual input on 'empowerment' by Linda Mayoux was challenged by specific project presentations and discussed more in-depth in working groups and a 'panel' discussion during the second day.
The proceedings of the workshop, including the up-dated full documents of the presentations are now available!
the Intl training centre of the ILO announces
Training: Improving Productivity through Good Practices in Human Resources
Management (A900063); from 24 February - 07 March 2003 at Turin/Italy.
All further details on their website:
training.itcilo.it/bdsseminar
updated: 2003-01-20
Training course
Diploma in Market Oriented Small Business Development Services (MOSBDS DIPLOMA)
How to be a better business adviser? (1 February to 31 May 2003).
The interested professionals who apply to this distance learning course (e-learning)
could obtain a Diploma in Market Oriented Small Business Development Services,
awarded by the International Training Centre of the ILO. Further information
on our training list and online
http://learning.itcilo.it/bds
2002-10-09
Announcement
The 'V Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise' with its focus on 'Favorable
Environment for Micro and Small Enterprises', is taking place on September 9,10
and 11 2002 in Rio de Janeiro. In plenary sessions and workshops up-to-date
information and analysis will be given on favorable political, commercial and
financial environment for Small Enterprise Development. For more detailed information
got to
www.iadb.org/foromic/
2002-08-23
Announcement of SED Working Paper
No 3: Framework for Evaluating the Impact of Small Enterprise Initiatives by
Eric Oldsman & Kris Hallberg
As result of discussions recently held in the Donor's Committee Working Group
on Impact and Evaluation we kindly inform you that this methodological paper
- reflecting current thinking on designing interventions along a chain of causality,
measuring outcome and assessing impact of small enterprise inititiatives - has
been published by the Division 'Employment & Income' of SDC.
It's available for download
[,
477 KB]or as hardcopy
via sed@intercooperation.ch
2002-07-12
Information: New
ILO documents on Innovation and Sustainability in Business Support Services
(FIT) [,
32 KB]
2002-07-10
Information
about the "3rd Annual Seminar on Business Development Services Are
'how-to-do-it'recipes possible?, Turin 9-13 September 2002" [,
45 KB]
2002-05-07
/ updated: 2002-07-10
Download
the updated compilation of International SED Training Courses 2002
[,
32 KB]
2002-05-06
Update
Final Report
of the SDC Workshop 2002:
Current Trends In Pro-Poor Small And Micro-Enterprise Development
More informations
2002-04-16
Information
about the "Séminaire Régional - Projet de programme La
Nouvelle Approche des Services d'Appui aux Petites Entreprises, OIT Dakar,
27-29 mai 2002" [,
29 KB]
2002-04-05
L'actualité
des services aux entreprises - n°1, 4è trim 01
Vous trouverez ci-joint le
premier numéro d'une publication électronique de la Coopération
française. Cette publication vise à diffuser les expériences
faites en matière de services aux petites entreprises - BDS! - dans les
pays francophones, mais aussi à traduire en français l'abondante
littérature disponible en anglais sur le sujet. Ce premier numéro
présente ainsi, entre autres, la traduction des recommandations à
l'attention des bailleurs du Comité des donateurs pour le développement
de la petite entreprise, le fameux "blue book". [Jean-Christophe
Favre, Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation, Employment and Income
Division, Small Enterprises Development & Skills Development]
Download
[, 364 KB]
06.03.2002
Proceedings
of the SDC Workshop 2002:
Current Trends In Pro-Poor Small And Micro-Enterprise Development
More informations
28.02.2002
Download
the report
[, 169 KB]
and the minutes
[,
130 KB] on
Meetings of the "Donors' Working Group on Financial Sector Development"and
the "Committee of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprise Development (SED)"
Stockholm, September 17 - 20, 2001.
Report written by Brigit
Hagmann, Hansruedi Pfeiffer SDC; Hilmar Stetter, Backstopping Mandate
16.11.01
/ add. 07.12.01
Just published
The International Conference Linking
Work, Skills, and Knowledge: Learning for Survival and Growth (10 to
12 September 2001) Interlaken, Switzerland has published "The
declaration of Interlaken"
19.11.01
Responsible: Team SED
Last Modified: 30 Apr 2007; 07:50