The SYB training is a course about starting a micro business. It mainly focuses on women living in the villages. It teaches them to develop a business plan and start a lucrative venture. With this, people in poor communities can be helped to improve their financial situation by starting a business.
The Training
In the SYB program “Start your Business” we teach women how to start a business and how to do it through a business plan for the company they have in mind. My job was that after the theories were explained, I would go deeper into applying the theory. There is an exercise after every session. During the group session, we explain to them in a simple way how to answer the questions and how to apply the theory correctly.
Aligned with the local group
This training changes the lives of the women. Some of the mothers are illiterate, so the information sometimes needs to be simplified. We use sketches with the same principles that the training teaches us. That’s nice for them because it uses their simple everyday language. And at the same time, it is easy enough to explain the concepts and still hold their attention. We like that they enjoy the training and still learn what they need.
Know your market
Through the training, they now understand the impact of competition, something that is important to know before starting their business. Of course, the more competitors they have, the smaller the share of the market they will get. They also know how to develop a product, or even add new products, so that they stand out as a company and thus gain a larger market share.
“They also taught us using different tools: movies, plays or scatches. That helps us to understand it better. We have learned that we have to visit the competitor to find out where they source their products, which brands they use and which products are better for the customer.”
Feasibility study
Usually these women would start a business without doing a feasibility study. But now their approach has changed. Now they know they have to do this research first to find out if the business idea has a chance of success. Our goal with this program is to teach women how to increase their income.
“I have personally benefited from the program. I learned how to plan and how to realize my plans and not to be too quick to invest in an idea, because certain patterns, habits and ideas might be feasible, but others are not.”