Timely business training for business development officers

Participants and trainers are all smiles after the graduation

By MALUM NALU

More than 30 business development officers (BDOs) from throughout Papua New Guinea graduated from an International Labour Organisation – Start Improve Your Business training of trainers and refresher training of trainers seminar at the Granville Hotel in Port Moresby last Friday.
ILO’s internationally-recognised SIYB is one of the few internationally-recognised business courses in PNG and is run by SBDC.
The SIYB programme is recognised in 48 countries, including PNG, which had the benefit of four internationally-recognised master trainers who conducted the two-week seminar.
The seminar was a capacity building training programme for provincial and district BDOs.
A total of over 30 provincial and district BDOs attended.
This seminar was a result of findings from the 2009 provincial commerce advisors conference in Alotau that identified many impediments that incapacitate BDOs in respective provinces to provide and deliver services for the development and growth of the SME sector in the provinces.
SBDC, as the lead implementing agency for SME development and growth in the country, took this initiative to up-skill the BDOs to:
• Effectively provide assistance to small business women and men to start and improve small-scale businesses;
• Participate actively in economic development projects; and
• Businesses and spin-off activities created by the large resource development projects.