Michel Botzung Senior Operations Officer Sustainable Business Advisory April 6 th 2011 How to unlock another emerging market - Women Entrepreneurs / The experience of IFC's SME Solutions 1

What are we aiming at? 2

IFC’s SME Solutions : SME Toolkit and Business Edge SME Toolkit ( The SME Toolkit leverages the latest information and communication technologies. It works with global partners and a network of local distributors, to provide SMEs with on- line and mobile phone access to business management information, interactive tools, and training resources. The SME Toolkit is available in 32 markets in 18 languages Kenya Saudi Arabia 3

IFC’s SME Solutions : SME Toolkit and Business Edge Business Edge BE is an IFC owned training system specifically designed to strengthen the management skills of owners, managers and staff of SMEs. BE offers clients applicable management training solutions adapted to the local business context, and delivered by a network of local franchised providers and certified trainers. BE covers 42 management courses, available in 10 languages and rolled out in 27 markets 4

A Global presence with Local partners 5 Business Edge is present in 27 countries since 2004 SME Toolkit is present in 32 countries since 2002 Business Edge was selected by the following brands to build their value chain SME Toolkit local implementation Partners

6 Wholesale Business Model Tools, Information & Training Curriculas are made available against fees to Local/Regional Distributors Self-study managem. books in bookstores Public training courses Customized courses for SME in value chains Corporations/IFC clients Training firms & Trainers Publisher SME TK & BE Content Capacity Building & Management of Distributors’ Network Market Development & Brand Awareness IFC’s Services SMEs & Entrepreneurs IFC’s SME Management Solutions Local Stakeholders (Firms, NGOs, Gos, etc.) Web-based Tools, Templates and Information

What does our data tell us? RegionMiddle East & North Africa ( since2004) Sub Saharan Africa (since 2008) Latin America (since 2009) # of Total Trained54,655 4,0681,154 # of Women Trained11,4211, % of Women Trained 21% 41% 44% MENA with 21% average reach reflects the regional conservative attitude towards women and their lower participation in the labor force 7 *Data covers 27 countries and include 16,656 women and 50,160 men Cultural differences influence the number of women trained Globally, there is no significant difference between courses taken by men or women… Courses*MenWomen Finance and Accounting15%18% General Operations Management6%9% Human Resources Management6%7% Marketing Management40%34% Others10%8% Personal Productivity Skill22%24% Tourism0.2%

…but women specific content has attraction “Women owned business” section attracted 13,350 visits on the Global SME Toolkit website Data source: Global site, between January to March # of Visits

Looking at the past to develop the future: Key Lessons Learned 9 t: : Format Depends on the size of the business. Short and flexible training modules are essential for women micro-entrepreneurs, allowing them to care for their families whilst taking classes. It is less true with SMEs and bigger companies. Delivery Model Working with local partners who know how to work with women to overcome entrenched barriers Women only training : mostly demanded for micro-entrepreneurs in extremely conservative regions (Afghanistan) Go where women are, target specific sectors Content Add strong female character in examples: helps trainees identify with them. Content delivered in the same way regardless of the sex of the participants.