Entrepreneurship and value chain services were started in 2010 in order to assist and encourage the economic growth and income generation in rural areas of Pakistan. These services improve the performance of the small-scale enterprises, their access to markets, and the ability to compete. IRM has successfully created Business Development Groups (BDGs) in the impoverished regions for improvement of entrepreneurship and value chain. This helps to create employment, generate income and contribute to economic development and growth for rural communities.
The vital purpose of entrepreneurship and value chain is to improve the performance of small enterprises in Rural Pakistan by creating groups or clusters of skilled labor called Business Development Groups under the guidance of competent BDOs (Business Development Officers) which include both men and women to cater both gender groups. This is a mean to achieve higher economic growth and employment, reduce poverty, and meet social objectives.
IRM’s professional business advisers are dedicated at providing entrepreneurs from rural areas with the necessary guidance to enable them to develop and flourish sustainably in the longer run.
BDS has created extensive links between these business groups and the market.
The initial Start Up:
Newly trained and promising entrepreneurs with or without recently-formed businesses learn and grow extensively from the guidance provided by IRM’s Business Development Services through various techniques, such as, business and entrepreneurial training, enterprise development, awareness and guidance sessions, assistance in developing strategic business plans etc.
In the last year alone a number of new Business Development Groups have been successfully established and are performing exceptionally.
Support for economic sustainability of Rural Business enterprises:
Once the newly established BDGs are up and running the remaining issue is that of consistency and sustainability of the groups. The survival of the small-scale businesses is crucial during the initial two to three years. BDS steps in by first monitoring these groups with the help of the BDO selected by the organization. It then provides continued supervision under guidance of specialist support to ensure the advancement and financial strength of the businesses.
BDS Training Courses and facilities:
Since the BDS programme is affiliated with the vocational training unit of IRM, almost all the training courses offered here are often linked to industrial and market linkages as well as entrepreneur through the specialized Business management skills training (BMST). They are also designed to suit specific business needs.
The training content for BMST includes introduction to business, types of business including trade, production services, business cycle, marketing and market survey, resource mobilization, profit making techniques, Personal Skills, etc.
Women in Business Development:
Women’s entrepreneurship development is essential for the realization of developmental goals such as economic growth and liberation. With the introduction of micro-credit and the provision of business development services, the current business environment for both rural and urban women has been changing.
Business development services sector helps skilled rural women by:
- Developing programmes for promoting women entrepreneurs;
- Support programmes targeted at changing the “gender bias” mind-sets and social and business cultures discriminating against women;
- Engage women and women’s business organizations in different economic policy making processes;
- Build the capacity of rural women;
- Take into account, the demands and service needs of rural women;
- Strengthen women’s voices in the planning and decision making in small-medium enterprise development;
- Invest in communications and build an infrastructure that brings BDS within the reach of rural women workers.
Youth- tapping into their potential:
IRM’s Business Development programme guides the youth in Pakistan, to enable them to adopt a positive approach to entrepreneurship and an increased inclination to create their own businesses. In the long-term, the BDS programme is expected to reduce youth unemployment, as young women and men increase their employability for wage employment, their capability to create gainful self-employment, or setup their own businesses. The provision of business development services for the youth serves to:
Develop positive attitudes towards enterprise and self-employment;
Create awareness of enterprise and self-employment as a career option for students in secondary education and trainees in vocational and technical training institutions;
Provide knowledge and practice of the required attributes and challenges for starting and operating a successful enterprise, particularly a small business.
Objectives:
These services are designed to instigate economic empowerment in the rural and underprivileged communities of Pakistan through various ways.
- To create linkages between the trained community and the market;
- To initiate smart business planning in the rural communities;
- To deliver business services and financial assistance to empower both rural men and women towards entrepreneurship and economic self-sufficiency.
IRM Bookstore:
A Successful and innovative venture for IRM is the launch of the IRM bookstore which not only serves as the marketing and branding of the organization but also fulfill the corporate social responsibility by developing products from the skilled expertise of the women business development groups in rural Sindh and bringing them on to a mainstream platform to keep the local skills alive. The handmade products range from small purses to various household ornaments.
