CORE PROGRAMS

New Business Creation: This program aims to develop knowledge, skills, and the attitudes that are necessary to start a new business. A needs analysis precedes the training program. Careful selection of candidates and adaptation of the curriculum as per the needs of participants assures good success rates. The training program concentrates on motivation, business idea generation, and development of business proposals (plans). Business schemes are then presented to the banking community and fellow participants for constructive criticism. Trainers write a report after the training and they monitor and support the progress of new entrepreneurs. Currently SBPP conducts about 20 NBC courses per year. Follow-up workshops ensure that participants can access continued support. The follow-up program aims at improving and varying the services offered by SBPP. It analyzes the existing services and their results. It elaborates, tests, and introduces new approaches to training and monitors international and national research progress on entrepreneurship development issues. For this purpose, it establishes links with research and development institutions in Nepal and abroad and carries out commissioned research and surveys in the field. Various manuals and publications are produced. NBC results in the creation of 50 to 200 new enterprises a year.

Follow-up conducted after three years show 53% of participants starting out as entrepreneurs. They employ an average of five to seven people and have an investment of Rs. 350,000 ($ 7000). So this approach creates well over 1,000 jobs per year. SBPP's follow-up statistics show between 4,500 to 6,000 jobs created through direct NBC activities during ten years of operation. SBPP plans to maintain this level of activity and even envisions activities enabling others in Nepal to duplicate the approach. An NBC program lasts five weeks and total costs which include follow-up is $7000 for 20 participants. Four senior professionals supervise the program.

COST AND DURATION OF TRAININGS

THE FIGURES BELOW ARE INDICATIVE OF 1995

S.N. Program Duration Cost

  1. New Business Creation 5 weeks 231,100
  2. Management Training 7 days 106,650
  3. New Business Creation for Trainers 7 weeks 392,800
  4. Small Business Consultancy Training 8 weeks 432,100
  5. Research (detailed studies for need identification) 8 weeks 285,100
  6. Research (organizational needs analysis, TNA, etc.) 4 weeks 125700
  7. Workshop Planning 1 week 150,400
  8. Training for Intermediaries 2 weeks 152,950
  9. Test of New Program 12 weeks 524,500
  10. Manual Preparation 8 weeks 262,000
  11. Monitoring System Development 8 weeks 285,100
  12. Consultancy Services 1 week 16,200
  13. Ex-NBCs Follow-up 5 days 12,200

Small Business Consultancy: The program assists newly created or established small businesses. It offers, after an initial diagnosis of the enterprise, consulting services in the following areas: marketing, financial management, accounting, and production management. If required, SBPP Business Information Services' technicians can provide advice. Over 200 consultancies are carried out by the project branch offices annually. SBPP also conducts area census surveys and consultants prepare manuals for client use. In addition by 1994, about 1,720 people had benefited from this service through 94 training programs. A SBC program lasts eight weeks.

Services to Institutions: SBPP cooperates with many organizations in the implementation of effective income generation and entrepreneurship programs. It trains the staff of other agencies, conducts planning workshops, and helps these organizations and institutions find appropriate approaches to micro-enterprise development. It introduced, for instance, ex-servicemen of the British Gurkhas and ex-trainees of technical institutions to the world of business. It familiarizes village-based trainers and extension workers to concepts and methods of income generation. The integrated service packages of SBPP have become so successful that a rising demand has to be satisfied. Interaction with a variety of NGOs, donor agencies, banks, and government institutions allows SBPP to attain the multiplier effect and the organizations are increasingly willing to pay for the services. This activity is of importance in the context of the project's institutionalization because it hopes to obtain an increasing share of its operation costs through services provided to institutions.

Planning and Business Information: Planning plays a key role in ensuring smooth operation of an enterprise and a definite direction can be achieved only through careful planning. The division coordinates the planning and budgeting processes of His Majesty's Government and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. Planning involves the identification of strategies for the institutional development of the project. The provision of collecting business information helps SBPP staff in executing their tasks. They consult other professionals to provide specific answers to entrepreneur's problems. Local experts, a question and answer system, and publications provide further information and about 80 technicians are advisors to SBPP. They visit clients to solve technology-related problems on a cost-sharing basis. SBPP's library has over 3,000 titles as well as relevant magazines and periodicals on small business promotion and other technical subjects. A microfiche reader makes it possible to pursue the Appropriate Technology Library and other documents.

Complementary Credit Program: This program maintains a revolving fund for credits (up to Rs. 200,000) to new and existing entrepreneurs. The fund (Rs. 12,500,000) is administered by the Agricultural Development Bank of Nepal. A chartered accountant examines its progress every six months. The revolving fund requires that the entrepreneur provides a collateral (building, land).