BUSINESS FACILITATION

Transcription

1 BUSINESS FACILITATION June 2013 PROJECT MODEL 1

2 Written by Olivia Davidson Social Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Team (SEED) Global Champion for Business Facilitation Project Model World Vision Australia 1 Vision Drive East Burwood, VIC, Australia 3151 olivia.davidson@worldvision.com.au 2

3 Business Facilitation Project Model What is it? World Vision s Business Facilitation project model is an approach to assisting parents to improve their business so they earn a sufficient reliable income to take care of their children. What are the core components of the approach? 1. Business Training; World Vision hires a staff person who has business and training experience. This staff person is called a Business Facilitator. The Business Facilitator provides entrepreneurship and business training to business owners so they have the skills and knowledge required to operate profitable businesses. The training is provided to small groups of business owners (15-20 pax) who run their own individual business, but have similar training needs. Training is provided monthly. 2. Business Coaching: The Business Facilitator provides follow-up business advice and coaching to business owners. Follow up coaching helps business owners to apply skills learnt in training and advice assists business owners to take advantage of quick wins. Coaching and advice is provided one on one and in small groups called peer support groups. Coaching is available weekly. 3. Community Business Councils improve the Business Environment; the business environment makes it difficult for our target group to run successful businesses. A group of small business owners, referred to as the Community Business Council (CBC), work with World Vision and other local partners to improve the business environment. The activities the CBC does to improve the business environment includes hosting regular community business meetings and advocacy. Suitable contexts: Any ADP or program where the target group run small businesses. Urban or rural. Project Length: 4 or 5 years. Resources Required: Financial: approx. $300,000 USD for 4 year project. Human: Business Facilitator with business and training expertise Tools & Resources; Visit the Business Facilitation Website 3

4 Contents Preface... 5 What is Business Facilitation?... 6 What will it achieve?... 6 What are core components of the model?... 6 Component 1: Business Training... 7 Component 2: Business Coaching Component 3: Community Business Councils improve the Business Environment How does it all fit together? Roles & Responsibilities (including partners) Implementation phases & timeline Target Group Suitable contexts Budget Monitoring & Evaluation Sustainability Minimum standards for Business Facilitation projects Tools & Resources ANNEXES Annex 1 Acronym and Definition list Annex 2 - Business Facilitation v1 improvement process & findings a Summary Annex 3 - Detailed Theory of Change Annex 4 Benchmark and Return on Investment calculations Annex 5 - Detailed Implementation Plan Annex 6 - Business Facilitation Log frame & data collection tools Annex 7 More about CEFE Annex 8 Business Facilitation Evidence Report Annex 9 WV CVA guidance for integrating local level advocacy in FSL programs Annex 10 Guide to BDS Market Assessment

5 Preface The Business Facilitation project model was developed by World Vision Australia (WVA) to assist parents who are poor to increase their income by starting or improving their business. The research and development process of Business Facilitation began in 2006 and continues today. Business Facilitation builds on the work of many other agencies including GIZ, Sirolli Institute, Nucleus, CEFE, ILO and UNACTD as well as World Vision s Business Facilitation projects in Kenya, Indonesia, Senegal, Rwanda and Lebanon. The Business Facilitation project model is continually being improved based on learnings from the field. This document explains the most current suggested practice for the Business Facilitation project model. This document does not explain the most recent innovations in isolation, but instead explains the entire Business Facilitation project model with changes embedded. For more information on the most recent improvement process please see Annex 2. This document will outline the core components of the Business Facilitation project model and provide basic guidance for implementation such as suitable contexts, recommended timeframes, budgets and staffing requirements and key tools. For more detailed information readers should visit the Business Facilitation Website. The website contains a wide range of resources that support readers to understand the model in more depth and implement a Business Facilitation project. Key resources include the Business Facilitation introduction video, the Business Facilitation Handbook and over 100 Tools. For more information please contact; Olivia Davidson Social Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Team (SEED) Global Champion for Business Facilitation Project Model World Vision Australia Sydney office Skype: olivia.davidson E: olivia.davidson@worldvision.com.au 5

6 What is Business Facilitation? World Vision s Business Facilitation project model is a multi-faceted approach to assisting parents to improve their business so they earn a sufficient reliable income to take care of their children. The project model supports parents to improve their business by initiating two key changes; 1. Supporting parents to acquire the behaviours, knowledge, skills and networks required to run profitable small businesses. 2. Supporting the community to improve the business environment so it is an easier place to run a business. These two changes are achieved via three core components; 1. Business Training 2. Business Coaching 3. Community Business Councils improve the business environment. What will it achieve? In summary Business Facilitation will; - Improve child wellbeing by supporting parents to generate sufficient reliable income through running profitable businesses. - Improve the business environment in the community and - Support the target group to improve their business knowledge, skills and networks. The suggested impacts for a Business Facilitation project operating in one ADP for 5 years are; small business owners with 30% increase in annual business profit small business owners with improved knowledge, skills and networks new jobs generated due to business growth children impacted positively due to improved business - Community business councils operating, improving the business environment - Effective business peer support networks operating What are core components of the model? The 3 core components of Business Facilitation are; This section will explain each component in more detail highlighting; what it is, why we should do it, a suggested strategy for implementing it and tools to assist. 6

7 Before each component is explained it is necessary to highlight two key roles. The first is the Business Facilitator. The first step in a Business Facilitation project is for World Vision to hire a staff person who has business, training and facilitation experience. This person is called a Business Facilitator and implements the project activities. The second is the Community Business Council (CBC). The CBC are a group of local business people (14-22) who work with world vision to improve the business environment. They are not a group business but like a local chamber of commerce of business association. More information on the Business Facilitator can be found in Roles and Responsibilities section of this document. Component 1: Business Training 1.1 What is it? The World Vision Business Facilitator provides entrepreneurship and business management training to business owners. The business training is provided in groups of micro/small business owners. What are the topics of the training? The topics of the training will be decided by World Vision WV Business Facilitator, based on what small businesses in the area want and need. Examples training topics include; 1. Entrepreneurial behaviours and attitudes - Understanding personal entrepreneurial competencies (PEC S) and behaviours - Self-assessment PEC s - Negotiation and competition training - Decision making and taking risk - Information seeking skills 2. Finding a business idea - Business idea generation - Idea selection 3. Markets & Marketing - Understanding markets - Collecting market information - Marketing mix and strategy - Identifying customers - Assessing competition 4. Product and Organisation - Production flow/processes - Time management 5. Financial planning - Developing effective pricing strategies - Profit and loss statements - Cash flow and balance sheet The target group will have recognised needs; knowledge and skills they know they need, and unrecognised needs; information and skills they don t know they need. The WV Business Facilitator will create a mix of topics that combine recognised needs so business owners are interested to attend, and unrecognised needs to ensure the business owner ends up with all the information they need to succeed. Who participates in the training? Small business owners who fall into the target group category and sign themselves up to attend one of the training courses. The opportunity to participate in the business training is advertised broadly across the community by World Vision, the Community Business Council and other stakeholders. Small business owners come forward and register themselves for a training course. 7

8 The participants in one training course (17 22 business owners) should have the same training needs e.g. marketing or financial planning. However it is helpful if the group operate different business types, have different products, a mix of male and female participants, different ages so they get input from various perspectives and don t see each other as competitors. How long does the training go for? The length of the training will depend on what is feasible for the target group to attend. It can range from a few hours to 5 days. For business owners who are poor and living day to day, it may not be possible for them to attend 5 day training course (without compensation which is not recommended) as they could not afford the loss of income. In such a context the WV Business Facilitator may design a series of 1 day short, specific, quick win business training topics and provide them regularly. The business owner might engage in one day of training per fortnight for a couple of months until all topics are covered. In other areas it may be possible to offer a 5 consecutive days training so all necessary topics are covered at once. It should be recognised that World Visions target group usually require a range of knowledge and skills to improve their business and hence may need 5 days of training or to return regularly. Attending one day may have some benefit but may not provide the business owner all the skills and knowledge they need for long term sustainable change. How often are the courses offered? Frequency The WV Business Facilitator should offer at least 8 days of training per month. How much does the training cost? The cost of the training will also depend on the local area. It is generally recommended that the training is provided for free until small business owners understand the value and benefit of the training (demand). Once the importance of training is known and the target group are demanding it, a small cost can be charged to cover the cost of the training, increase outreach, ensure participants really want the training, indicated by their willingness to pay and improve sustainability. What curriculum & approach is used? There are many entrepreneurship and business training curriculums and methods available. Evidence has shown not all of them are effective. Evidence shows that business training curriculums that are simple, use experiential learning techniques are based on adult learning theories and have strategies for behaviour change embedded are more effective. Hence Business Facilitation mandates using a curriculum and method that has these attributes. CEFE International business curriculum and approach is one such method. CEFE is a comprehensive set of entrepreneurship and business training act ivit ies that have been proven to init iate posit ive change and increase profit of thousands of poor micro small businesses owners 1 in developing contexts. CEFE business training is action-orientated, participatory, applies adult learning principles, initiates entrepreneurial behaviour change and has evidence of working and has an ongoing support network 2 for its users. More information on CEFE can be found in Annex 7. Whilst CEFE is recommended it is 1 Comparative analysis of Business Training. See Business Facilitation improvement report for more detail 2 A community of practice, a place where all CEFE trainers can meet and share information, give each other advice and tips 8

9 acknowledged that there may be local business training curriculums that have proven to be effective with the target group. If the project team wish to use an alternative curriculum it should be discussed and approved by the Global Champion for Business Facilitation. If an ineffective curriculum is used the project goals cannot be achieved. 3.2 Why should we do it? Business owners need a wide range of knowledge and skills to successfully run a business. For example business owners need; - Knowledge and skills to develop their product/service - Knowledge and skills to identify market opportunities (buyers) orientate products and services towards the market (product, place, price, promotion), assess competition etc. - Knowledge and skills for financial management; obtain finance, cash flow, sales forecast, calculate profit and loss etc. In addition to traditional business management knowledge and skills, evidence 3 also indicates that successful business owners also possess certain attitudes and behaviours, commonly known as entrepreneurial behaviours and attitudes. Examples of entrepreneurial behaviours and attributes include; - Goal setting articulate clear & specific business goals - Risk taking deliberately calculate & evaluate risk when making business decisions - Persistence Take repeated actions to overcome business obstacles - Information seeking personally seek info from clients, suppliers, competitors - Opportunity seeking and Initiates seize unusual opportunities to start a new business or expand the business, get finance or new equipment Often our target group don t possess these attitudes, behaviours and skills so if we want business owners to improve their businesses, and sustain that improvement we must give them the skills to do so. Furthermore it is not possible for World Vision to identify the problem and solution for each business owner. In some communities there are hundreds of different business types being run by our target group knowing the details and solutions for each is impossible. Even if World Vision could tell each business owner what to do to improve profits, doing so would be paternalistic and unsustainable because the environment and market is constantly changing. There is no escape from self-help; business owners must have the knowledge and skills to improve the profit themselves. Finally training small groups as opposed to individuals is included to achieve scale and also sustainability through peer support. 3.3 How do we do it? The suggested strategy to providing entrepreneurship and business training is; 1. WV Business Facilitator conducts research on small businesses in the area to understand; what businesses are operating, business needs (recognised & unrecognised) and existing assets such as services already available in the target area 2. WV Business Facilitator completes CEFE Train the Trainer (ToT) certification (or other approved curriculum) to learn effective business training tools and methods 3 McClelland 9

10 3. WV Business Facilitator designs and delivers 1 st training course; o Based on research findings (step 1) the WV Business Facilitator identifies a key topic in which many small businesses want assistance. o Using CEFE or another approved curriculum (step 2) the WV Business Facilitator designs a training course that will respond to the need o The WV Business Facilitator works with the CBC to advertise the training opportunity, inviting target small business owners to sign up for the training. Key promotion will be done at the community business meetings. o WV Business Facilitator delivers the training to small business owners o WV Business Facilitator supports participants to develop peer business support groups and ways to share their success with other business owners in the community (to create interest in the training) 4. WV Business Facilitator repeats steps above designing and delivering entrepreneurship and business training to micro and small businesses in target area on a monthly basis 5. WV Business Facilitator monitors participants progress 6. WV Business Facilitator conducts regular research on business services and opportunities available in the target area. 7. WV Business Facilitator participates in the Business Facilitation Project model Accredited Learning and Support (PALS) where they are part of an ongoing learning community made up of their peers and more experienced mentors coming soon In step two the WV Business Facilitator attends a CEFE Trainer of Trainers (ToT). The CEFE ToT is 10 days long and available in various countries 4. Once the WV Business Facilitator has finished the course will have all the knowledge and tools required to deliver business training and help small businesses grow. For more information on CEFE training opportunities please contact the Global Champion for Business Facilitation. The World Vision WV Business Facilitator will also be linked into the CEFE trainer network/alumni for peer mentoring, ongoing advice, information sharing and professional development. 3.4 Tools - Page of the Business Facilitation Handbook provides detailed guidance on recruiting and orientating a WV Business Facilitator - WV Business Facilitator Profiles provides real life profiles of current WV Business Facilitators - WV Business Facilitator Position Description, - WV Business Facilitator Interview Questions - Community Business Needs and Resources Research guide provides detailed guidance and data collection tools for WV Business Facilitator research - Annex 7 more information on CEFE 4 After some time World Vision might offer CEFE Train the Trainer courses internally. 10

11 Component 2: Business Coaching 4.1 What is it? Business Facilitator provides follow up business advice and coaching to business owners. The Business Facilitator provides business coaching to individual business owners and business peer support groups. The type of advice and coaching the WV Business Facilitator may provide on request includes; - Supporting business owners to apply what they learnt in training to their business - Supporting business owners to identify their business challenges - Referring business owners to local services such as banks and training institutions - Link business owner to new suppliers, traders, buyers & other quick win connections - Support business owner complete business registration and other licencing requirements - Give business owners market information or advice - Link businesses together for collective selling, collective buying and information sharing - Link businesses together for business mentoring - Mentor business owners to negotiate with stakeholders such as suppliers, buyers and competitors It is recommended the World Vision WV Business Facilitator is available at least two days for per week to provide business coaching. 4.2 Why include it? It is difficult to start or improve a business. The entrepreneurship and business training provided is a great start, but participants may encounter difficulties when they return to their business start to apply the information taught in training. To ensure change is generated business owners need to opportunities to ask questions, get advice and support as business owners apply their learning s. Providing the opportunity for business owners to ask questions and seek further advice increases the likelihood that change will occur and maximises the impact of the entrepreneurship and business training. Business Coaching also encourages small business owners to help each other through business peer support groups. Peer support groups are small groups of business owners (4-8) who run different types of businesses (e.g. butcher, farmer, phone shop) who meet regularly and give each other advice and ideas for their business. Small business owners have a lot of experience and information that might be helpful for others. Peer support groups create the opportunity to leverage local information and support. The business coach supports peer support groups, adds technical input and guidance to ensure quality. Finally, sometimes small business owners just need a small piece of advice in order to increase profits significantly. For example a small business owner might need advice on how to find a new input supplier so their business can continue. This Business Coaching intervention allows that small business owners to get quick once off support to improve their business as opposed to having to attend a whole business training course. This is a quick win a small piece of advice that has a large quick impact. Quick wins assist to create momentum and hope for small business development in the community. It also ensures local resources are maximised as the WV Business Facilitator provides referrals to other local organisations. 11

12 4.3 How do we do it? The suggested process for implementation includes; - The Community Business Council supports the WV Business Facilitator to identify a location in the community where small business owners and peer support groups can access him/her for WV Business coaching two days/evening per week - The CBC, WV and other stakeholders advertise and promote the WV Business Coaching service. The WV Business Facilitator will also promote it in their CEFE business training - WV Business Facilitator provides advice to individual business owners and peer support groups who comes to see them. - WV Business Facilitator follows up with clients to ensure their progress - WV Business Facilitator monitors impact and change 4.4 Tools - Page of the Business Facilitation Handbook provides detailed guidance on how to establish and provider a WV Business Coaching service - WV Business Coaching and Advising tools - WV Business Coaching Service Brochure Example from Indonesia examples for promotion - WV Business Coaching Service Brochure Example from Kenya examples for promotion Component 3: Community Business Councils improve the Business Environment 1.1 What is it? Businesses are like plants in that they need the right environment to grow. All plants, regardless of their type, need an environment with sun, water and good soil. And all businesses, regardless of their type, need a range of elements in their environment, including infrastructure such as electricity and roads, services such as finance, and helpful business laws. So the business environment can be defined as factors external to the micro or small business that affect its ability to grow and compete5. These environmental factors have a major influence on the ease with which people can start and grow their businesses. Business Environment factors include; 1. Business Law & Regulations how easy or expensive is it to register a business? Meet regulations? 2. Infrastructure required for business such as electricity and roads, 3. Technology (access to) such as techniques for farming, mobile phones, internet 4. Markets (access to) availability and access to buyers, traders, suppliers etc. 5. Business Development Services (access to) availability of business training, support and advice 6. Finance (access to) financial services such as loans, insurance, bank accounts 7. Culture & governance attitudes and behaviours that affect business such as good governance, corruption or culture that makes it difficult for women to work 5 DECD & ILO 12

13 The final component of Business Facilitation involves World Vision supporting the community to improve the business environment in the area, so it is easier for our target group to run successful businesses. The business environment affects all businesses in the area; it is a collective problem therefore is best dealt with via collective action. Hence the Business Facilitator and WV ADP team works with a group of local people who want to work together to improve the business environment. This group is called the Community Business Council (CBC). The CBC can be likened to a Chamber of Commerce; a local association that promote and protect the interests of the business community in a particular place 6. The CBC is made up of small and medium business owners in the target area. The size and structure of the CBC will depend on the context but past experience has shown the group will typically have between 14 and 22 people on the management committee, and up to 500 small businesses as members. In some areas the follow representatives might also be on the CBC, however in most cases they will be partners of the CBC - Representatives from service providers such as banks, training organisations, - Local government official s such as ministry of agriculture or trade - Representatives from research institutes or universities - Community leaders The activities the CBC design and implement to improve the business environment also vary depending on context but could include; - Hosting community business meetings ( see below) - Advocating or partnering with local government to improve roads, electricity and business laws - Raising awareness of business services available in the target area through community events - Forming partnerships with universities and government departments to conduct research to market opportunities in area - Hosting market days for local producers to show case their products - Hosting local business awards - Producing business directories - Arranging exposure visits Community business meetings are lots of different people involved in business in the community (e.g people) meeting regularly (e.g. monthly) discussing and learning about business in the area. Some activities done at community business meetings include; - Local organisations sharing information on their business services such as training opportunities or finance options - Guest speakers such as successful business owners telling success stories and experiences - Local government sharing information in business laws, regulations or opportunities - Networking opportunities for small business owners - Share information on local markets such as what is being demanded, market prices nearby - Host local business awards - Opportunities for business owners to showcase their products

14 Two factors that often prevent World Vision s target group from growing their business are; 1. A lack of information (particularly on markets and business development services) and 2. A lack of networks and relationships for business. Hosting regular business meetings in the community provides an efficient and effective platform to overcome both of these barriers. 1.2 Why should we do it? The business environment significantly influences the ease with which people can start and grow their businesses. Many communities that World Vision works with have poor business environments which are making it hard for small business owners to run successful businesses. If we are going to support small business owners to improve their business we MUST improve the business environment because it is a necessary condition for small businesses to grow. It doesn t matter how much training, or capital a business owners has if the business environment is poor business will be expensive, time consuming and difficult to earn a profit. For sustainable change to be expected World Vision must work with others to improve the business environment. Another reason Business Facilitation needs to address the business environment is for efficiency and scale. If the project is successful in improving even one aspect of the business environment it will have a positive impact on many businesses in the area, sometimes all businesses. Having a positive impact on the profit of many businesses through one action is efficient and improves the impact of the model. Finally, the CBC engages in local level advocacy and action to improve the business environment which in turn improves governance and social accountability which can have a wide range of flow on benefits for the target group. 1.3 How do we do it? The business environment affects all businesses in the area (although not all in the same way), it is a collective problem and therefore should be dealt with by a collective action strategy. The suggested strategy for implementation is; 1. Identify an existing group or mobilise a CBC - WV Business Facilitator mobilises a Community Business Council (CBC) a group who are interested and motivated to work collectively to improve the business environment 2. CBC host business meetings - WV Business Facilitator support the CBC to start hosting community business meetings to improve business environment, raise profile and get experience working together 3. CBC understands the business environment - WV Business Facilitator supports the CBC to understand the concept of a business environment 4. CBC assess business environment - WV Business Facilitator supports the CBC to assess problems in their local business environment 5. CBC take action - WV Business Facilitator supports the CBC to design and implement a series of activities to overcome identified business environment problems and represent the best interests of the business community. 14

15 Basically World Vision gets people together, teaches them about the business environment and help them do things to fix it that s it! 1.4 Tools The Business Facilitation Handbook - Page of provides detailed guidance on how to mobilise a CBC - Page provides detailed guidance on how to support the CBC to become a strong group - Page provides detailed guidance to support the CBC to understand and assess the business environment - Page provides detailed guidance to support the CBC to design and implement activities to improve the business environment - The CBC make-up and profiles which provides real life examples of current CBC s - CBC Activity Profiles that provides real life examples of CBC activities. World Vision s Citizen Voice and Action: Guidance for intergrading local level advocacy in Food and livelihood programs contain very useful guidance for supporting a CBC in improving the local business environment. 15

16 Action 5: Optional Activities This section is currently construction There is a range of additional activities that may be used to complement and strengthen the outcomes of a Business Facilitation project. Activities to improve the correlation between increases in business profit and child wellbeing - Gender conversations things from Michelle - Community conversations tools - Child labour reduction modules - Programs that involve educating parents on the wellbeing of children - Supporting parents to identify how income generating activities affect the wellbeing of children - Ensure the BF project is being done as part of a wider programme e.g. health, education evidence has found economic development programs done in conjunction with other social programs result in economic changes benefiting children more positively 7 Activities and model to improve business outcomes - WV Savings groups project model - WV Local Value Chain Development Project Model - Citizen Voice in Action (Business Environment) How does it all fit together? The following diagram illustrates how the goal, outcomes and interventions described above relate to one another in Business Facilitation. For a more detailed Theory of change for Business Facilitation please see Annex

17 BF V2 Project Logic Summary Parents earn a sufficient reliable income from their business to take care of their children Local Business Environment is enabling/good Target group have entrepreneurial behaviours, knowledge, skills & networks required for profitable business operation CBC improve the Business Environment Business Facilitator provides Business Training Business Facilitator provides Business Coaching Community Business Council takes various actions to improve the Business Environment, including hosting community business meetings Supports WV Business Coach provides entrepreneurship and business management training to small groups of small business owners to improve their business behaviours knowledge and skills Supports WV Business Coach provides follow up business advice & referrals to individuals and peer support groups to help consolidate learning and impact on business profit

18 Roles & Responsibilities (including partners) The roles and responsibilities in Business Facilitation are outlined in detail on page 25 of the Business Facilitation Project Model Document and throughout the Business Facilitation Handbook. Below is a summary. Business Facilitator The principle staff member in a Business Facilitation project is the WV Business Facilitator. The Business Facilitator is a World Vision employee who implements the project activities. The major roles of the WV Business Facilitator are; - Conduct research and understand small business development needs and opportunities in target area - Design and deliver entrepreneurship and business management training to small groups of target businesses - Provide follow up business advice and coaching to business owners & peer support groups - Support the Community Business Council to improve the business environment - Support in project management including monitoring, evaluation and budget management. Hiring a Business Facilitator with appropriate attitude, skills and experience to perform the role above is one of the most critical success factors for the project model. Without a WV Business Facilitator with adequate business expertise, a good attitude and great interpersonal skills the project is unlikely to be successful. The WV Business Facilitator NOT a regular Development Facilitator position; it is a technical specialist position (in business), who operates at the ADP level. The business case position description provides more detail of necessary skills and attributes and WV Business Facilitator profiles provides real life examples. The WV Business Facilitation frequently asked questions and WV Business Facilitator DADD will support the team to understand the role in more detail. It should also be noted that the WV Business Facilitator will be provided with significant training and support from CEFE and World Vision to ensure they have the skills and tools required performing the role. Because there is a significant investment in the World Vision WV Business Facilitator it is strongly recommended the WV Business Facilitator sign a 2-3 year contract to avoid investing in employees who then leaves. Community Business Council The Community Business Council is a group of people who work together to improve the business environment. The key roles of the CBC include; - Meet regularly - Host regular community business meetings - Understanding the concept of a business environment - Assess the business environment in their local area 18

19 - Designing and implementing activities to overcome business environment problems - Monitoring and evaluating progress - Take action to be a strong sustainable group, including financial sustainability World Vision ADP The WV ADP assumes usual project management roles and responsibilities including; - Conduct initial assessment to determine suitability of the Business Facilitation project model for the target area - Prepare for a Business Facilitation project including securing funding - Recruit and orientate the WV Business Facilitator - Provide support and management for the WV Business Facilitator - Promote the project at all opportunities - Participate on the CBC and leverage strong partnerships to achieve project outcomes - Monitor, evaluate, and report - Financial management WV National office The National Office assumes usual support roles and responsibilities outlined in more detail on page 25 of the Business Facilitation Project Model Document. Business Peer Support groups; A business peer support group is a group of target group (4-8) who meet regularly to share information and help each other in business. The groups are voluntary and supported by the World Vision Business Facilitator. The groups are formed after business training or on demand. More about the business peer support networks can be found in the Sustainability section. Other local economic development stakeholders Other Economic Development stakeholders such as local banks, microfinance institutions, universities, training organisations and local government are key partners in the project. There are many ways they can be involved including; - Members of the CBC - The CBC may partner with the stakeholder to deliver a joint activity - The CBC can promote their services at business meetings. - The World Vision WV Business Facilitator will also refer target group to these local services. It is important for project teams to ensure the local government is involved in one way or another. CEFE International or Local Business Training expert CEFE International or the organisation responsible for the local business training method and curriculum chosen is a key partner. They are responsible for training the WV Business Facilitator in the business training curriculum and approach, teaching them all activities, sharing tools and resources and ensuring the Business Facilitator is competent and can be effective using the method to train target small business owners to improve. 19

20 Implementation phases & timeline A Business Facilitation project should run for a minimum of 4 or 5 years. Significant sustainable change is not considered possible in less time. The suggested implementation process for Business Facilitation is summarised below. More detail on each of the steps can be found in Annex 5. No. Key Step Time Month (e.g.) required 1. World Vision ADP or National Office contacts global 1 day November 2012 champion for Business Facilitation project model requests support to learn more about Business Facilitation project model 2. Global champion for Business Facilitation project model arranges support for WV National Office and ADP staff to build understanding of Business Facilitation and conduct a suitability assessment (see page 10 of Business Facilitation Handbook for feasibility assessment guidelines) and make preliminary implementation plans. 3. ADP hire a Business Facilitator, provide orientation including CEFE ToT certification training or identify another proven curriculum 4. Business Facilitator conducts Business needs and opportunity assessment in local community 5. World Vision mobilise a Community Business Council 8 or establish a partnership with an existing group 6. World Vision supports CBC to begin hosting community business meetings 7. Wide scale promotion of the project; Community Business Council meetings, business training and coaching services etc. 8. Business Facilitator provides entrepreneurship and business training 9. WV Business Facilitator provides follow up advice and support 10. CBC design and implement first activity to improve the Business Environment 1 month February months Mar - May 2 months June -July 1 month August 1 month Sep- 1 st meeting Ongoing monthly Ongoing Start in Sep Ongoing 1 month per course 1 day per week Ongoing Oct -1 st course Ongoing bimonthly Oct 1 st day Ongoing weekly Nov- 1 st event then quarterly 20

21 The table shows that by the end of the first year of the project all 10 implementation activities should be complete. For the next 4-5 years the team focuses on replicating, scaling up and improving the activities. A more detailed implementation schedule can be found in Annex 5. Target Group The target group for Business Facilitation should have 4 characteristics. Participants should satisfy ALL 4 criteria. 1. Parents, especially women where possible 2. Are from the poor categories of society 9 3. Operate a micro or small business to earn an income 4. Are motivated to improve their business and demonstrate this by taking action to be involved in the project (self-selecting). Target group are parents/caregivers - Business Facilitation aims to increase the wellbeing of children by helping parents increase their income by starting or improving their business. Hence the vast majority of participants need to be parents. This is not to say that no young people or people without children can ever be involved, but the majority should be caregivers for the goal to be realised. Especially women - it is recommended that the project aim for 50% of participants to be women. This recommended for various reasons including; when women earn income they invest approximately 90% of it into their families 10 which helps ensures income increases translates into benefits for children. Secondly, supporting women to increase economic participation can create additional development benefits for a country. The target group are poor - Business Facilitation aims to help people who are poor. Categories of poor and the associated characteristics context specific/unique. To ensure participants are poor the World Vision project must have a strong understanding of poverty categories and characteristics in their target area to identify target group. Characteristics of current Business Facilitation participants include; - Poor as defined by national level income and/or participatory household ranking - Have a small business with 0 4 employees - Have limited savings - Have enough food to eat and even if the food is not very nutritious - Children do not always go to school - Have limited access to health - Have some land and housing, possibly small animals or have a small pocket of land - Have some assets such as furniture, TV, bicycle It is important to note that Business Facilitation is NOT considered a holistic solution for the most vulnerable and the ultra- poor segments of a population. Such households include those reliant 9 As defined by local context 10 Gender Equality as smart Economics or Engendered Development. 21

22 entirely on charity of others to survive, have no business, land or livestock and lack shelter, adequate clothing and food. The most vulnerable populations are better served by multidimensional intensive poverty graduation programs. The target group run micro/ small businesses - make sure participants are or want to run a business and make sure the business is micro or small. Business Facilitation is NOT designed to assist people in waged/paid employment nor medium and large size as a strategy to create jobs 11. The categories and definitions of business size vary from country to country. The project team should know local definitions and ensure businesses participating in the program meet the local micro and small definitions. As a guide micro business is commonly defined as one that has 0 5 employees and a small business one with less than 15 employees. The target group are motivated & self-select For Business Facilitation to be successful the participants need to be motivated to improve their business and/or their situation. Some indicators of motivation include; - If the business owner takes action to sign up to WV business training course - if the business owner takes action to be part of the CBC - If the business owner is willing to pay for business training - If the business owner takes action to get advice from WV s Business Facilitator at their own will - If the business owner gives up time and energy to learn new things and seek new information - If the business owner has a history of making changes to their business or other aspects of their life - If the business owner talks about trying new things - If the business owner voices visions or dreams for their business/future - If the business owner speak optimistically about the future - If the business owner speaks optimistically about their ability to improve their life and generate change To ensure we work with those who are interested and motivated world vision and partners will promote the project through networks and avenues that reach female, poor, small business owners and design the project in a way that enables them to participate. Participation should be tracked based on these 5 characteristics. If the target group is not being met then action should be taken to decrease the barriers to engagement. For more information on target group and selection please see WV Business Facilitation frequently asked questions tool. 11 though supporting small and micro businesses to grow to increase employment is one of the key positive by-products of the project as shown in the theory of change diagram in Annex 4. 22

23 Suitable contexts Contexts that are suitable for Business Facilitation will have the following characteristics. - Evidence of relative poverty and poor child well-being caused by a lack of income and/or a lack of knowledge and skill required to generate an income. - Target groups primary source of income is self-employment (they are running businesses including farm enterprises). - Evidence of some trade in the area (some money coming into the area) - Diversity in the target groups self- employment initiatives (i.e. people have a range of different types of business types such as hairdressing, agro-business, construction, services and not all doing the same thing). - Multiple factors restricting business development (e.g. a combination of factors such as insufficient finance, technology, and restrictive business laws, as opposed to just one major factor such as a lack of access to markets) - A documented need for business and entrepreneurship training and support - A lack of networking and partnerships between economic development stakeholders, including underutilised services. - Local stakeholders and small business owners who are motivated to work in partnership with WV, to improve the business environment (for both personal and collective benefit) - Ability to attract and retain a skilled WV Business Facilitator - A geographic area that is relatively stable in a social, political and environmental sense Unsuitable Contexts Business Facilitation is not suitable in contexts with the following characteristics - Target group are in waged employment are not running small businesses - Target group business type is very similar e.g. >70% of target group farm cashews, copra & candle nut - One major factor restricting business development (e.g. infrastructure, access to finance etc.) - No interest from small business owners and other economic development stakeholders to work together to improve the business environment - A geographic area that is extremely unstable in a social, political and environmental sense and hence no one will invest in starting or expanding a business For detailed guidance on assessing the suitability of Business Facilitation for the target area please see Page 9-10 of the Business Facilitation Handbook. 23

24 Budget The costs of a Business Facilitation project will vary depending on where it is being implemented. Previous projects have cost between $150,000 USD and $400,000 USD for the full 4 years. The main costs associated with the project are; - Salary of WV Business Facilitator - approx. $25,000 - $35,000 per year - WV Business Facilitator operational expenses motorbike, laptop, phone, fuel, internet - Business Training Venue hire, food, certificates and handbooks - CEFE Certification of WV Business Facilitator ($5000 in 1 st year only) World Vision should not pay for; - The CBC s meetings including food and fuel. - The CBC s activities; WV might have a small amount available for CBC s to access via a grant in the 1st year (e.g.< $3000) but after the 1st year local resources should be mobilised for these purposes - Provide SEED capital or loans to small businesses To estimate costs for individual projects it is necessary for WV project teams should read The Business Facilitation Handbook, particularly the Business Facilitation budget estimates and descriptions. 24

25 Monitoring & Evaluation This section is currently under review by monitoring and evaluation specialists. It will be completed and updated once feedback is provided. The Monitoring and Evaluation Section of the Business Facilitation Handbook provides detailed guidance. Only aspects that have changed are highlighted below. Logframe The Business Facilitation logframe and data collection tools can be found in Annex 8. Below is a summary. Project Goal Participating parents have sustained increase in business profit that improves their ability to provide well for their children Outcome 1 Improved Business Environment in target Outcome 2 Target group have improved behaviours, knowledge and skills for business development Output 2.1 Output 1.1 Establish a Community Business Council (CBC) & support the CBC in organisational & technical development World Vision Business Facilitator provides entrepreneurship and business training to target group Output 2.2 Output 1.2 WV supports CBC to host community business meetings World Vision Business Facilitator provides follow up WV Business Coaching, advice and support Output 1.3 WV supports CBC to design and implement activities to improve the business environment 25