BIM-Level 1 for Targeted WFP Staff
BUSINESS INCUBATION MANAGEMENT – LEVEL 1 for Targeted World Food Programme Staff Members held from 24th -29th July 2023 in Mbarara City, Uganda.
The Training of Trainers (ToTs) Programme – Level 1 on “Business Incubation Management (BIM)” was held from 24th to 29th July 2023 in Mbarara City, Uganda. It was conducted in collaboration with the African Agribusiness Incubators Network (AAIN) and Excel Hort Consult Agribusiness Incubator (EHCAI). The Training was attended by 25 participants from the Southwest Area Office (SWAO), the Uganda Country Office (CO), and the Field Offices (FO) of Kyenjojo, Kyangwali, Isingiro, Arua, Gulu and Koboko and was facilitated by BIM Experts, Entrepreneurs and Business Coaches.
The six-day training on Business Incubation Management (BIM) was aimed at:
- Equipping targeted staff members with knowledge and skills in business incubation management and entrepreneurship that would be passed on to other stakeholders.
- Preparing the targeted staff members to support the AO as well as the CO in the roll-out of the transition model especially in the establishment of incubation hubs.
In line with the plan of the World Food Programme (WFP) AO to roll out the transition model, the need to prepare staff in readiness to support the implementation of the transition model, and strengthen the existing incubation hubs, as well as support the establishment of new hubs in refugee settlements and host communities, the staff of WFP needed to be equipped with knowledge, skills, and tools to build the capacity of their collaborators through technical guidance, leadership, and transfer of knowledge on innovations that support planning and implementation of the transition model.
This comes timely with the dwindling funding support for WFP and the current programming focused on “doing more with less” in the context of a changing lives agenda through the transition of refugees and host communities from food assistance to self-reliance and economic resilience which focuses on skilling and equipping refugees and host communities with alternative on-farm, off-farm and non-farm livelihood options. Through the Asset Creation and Livelihood (ACL) programme, the WFP SWAO in collaboration with EHCAI, the District Local Governments (DLGs) and Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) started implementation of the F3A (Food Availability, Food Accessibility and Food Affordability) food systems business model that focuses on enhancing: Food Availability at household and community levels through increased production and productivity, Food Accessibility by households and communities through supply chain and logistics management enhancement, value addition, processing and marketing; and, Food Affordability through increased income options by facilitating access to financial services, access to markets and business incubation support among other interventions.
Business incubation provides a nurturing, instructive, and supportive environment for entrepreneurs during the critical stages of starting up a new business.
The goal of such programmes is to decrease the chance that a start-up will fail and shorten the time and reduce the cost of establishing and growing its business. The training aimed at supporting the participants in understanding how business incubators work, who they are right for, how to quantitatively measure their success through business modelling, as well as the financial theories behind them. The training gave the participants the tools to differentiate between financing options and incubator types, understand how to build a successful business plan, model and track incubator success, and provide financial literacy in the world of business incubation. After successfully completing the training, the learners should feel competent in how to start, manage, and assess business incubators. The training built the capacity of participants to conduct effective trainings in developing or managing incubation hubs.
The BIM training model used was adopted from the incubation management principles of the AAIN. All trainees would be accredited and certified ToTs after undertaking evaluation assessments and obtaining the minimum score.
The training ended with a graduation dinner where the trainees who had excelled were given their certificates of competence to be able to train others in business incubation. The Chief Guest was Dr. Callist Tindimugaya, the Chairperson of the AAIN Advisory Board and the Commissioner for Water Resources Planning and Regulation, Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda who urged the graduates to put into practice what they have learnt in the past week to yield better results. He urged them to be the agents of change in their areas where they work.
“This training has come in timely since we are transitioning from giving refugees and host communities handouts to having the ability to start their own businesses and earn to improve their livelihoods for economic resilience and self-reliance.” Emily Doe, the Head of Area Office, Southwestern Region emphasized
