By: Aruna Kamara (BO)
Business Development and Service Providers in both the private and public sectors have said that gender responsive entrepreneurship will help to stimulate economic growth in the country.
They made this statement at Gender and Enterprise Together (GET) ahead workshop, which is a gender-responsive entrepreneurship training programme designed to support primarily women with mixed levels of literacy and numeracy skills in starting, managing and consolidating small businesses. The training is taking place at Bo In Hotel in Bo, which is a follow up training from the previous training that will lead to certification.
This is an Opportunity Salone programme being implemented in Bo, Bombali, Kenema and Port Loko by the International Labour Organization (ILO) with funds from the European Union (EU) to support Sierra Leone in its quest to develop a vibrant and resilient economy delivering Decent Work opportunities to Sierra Leoneans.
A representative from the Sierra Leone Chambers of Agro Businesses, Rev Max Konneh Joe, one of the participants in the training of trainers GET Ahead Workshop said the “training will empower them to share with others going into large scale investment in business by starting small and grow into becoming big entrepreneurs”.
He further that”the farmers will now go into large scale investment in agriculture with value chain in view to enhance large production,’’ he said.
Phebian Turay, another participant said it was good that there is gender focus and gender responsive entrepreneurship is keen in stimulating economic growth in Sierra Leone, adding that the livelihood of the people will be enhanced in their communities to help address their welfare.
She said that the women and youths who form the bulk of the population, can empowered with entrepreneurship skills to contribute to nation building, adding that “if they are doing businesses will take their minds off criminality. We will ensure that we share the knowledge acquire during the training for a multiplying effect.
The Lead Trainer from the International Labour Organization(ILO) –Ahead training Program, Ngobi Yairo, said that ‘’ we believe that if you empower the women and the youths to be able to set their businesses that will help improve on the families. If women are empowered with entrepreneurship skills they will help their husbands in the running of the home.
“We want to promote gender empowerment emancipation. We are encouraging the entrepreneurs to use their little resources to start small and grow into big businesses,” he said.
The Director of Coaching and Counselling service, who is also one of the trainers, said that “one unique component of the training is how to coach. The decision to add coaching sessions comes from a growing body of research corroborating the positive impacts on entrepreneurs’ (and women entrepreneurs’ in particular) performance of providing them with training that is intense in nature and spread over longer periods of time.”
He said that the coaching contributes significantly to the impact and sustainability of the entrepreneurship in the community which encourages and supports the aspirations or women and families that influences a growing economy in the regions.
The objectives of the GET Ahead training programme are to: Enable women, men and families to make better business decisions for increasing their income-generating activities and opportunities, Promote women’s economic empowerment in communities that are traditionally disadvantaged or marginalized, Contribute to the social and economic development of women and men living in conditions of poverty.
