Call for expressions of interest: Identification and selection of entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs in West Africa

As part of agreed efforts to improve the performance and growth of businesses in ECOWAS countries and strengthen the capacity of business support organisations (BSOs) in the field of entrepreneurship training within the framework of the WACOMP programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (CIFOIT) are collaborating to offer a management training and business coaching programme to support BSOs working with entrepreneurs and start-ups at various stages of growth.

The training and coaching programme includes a training of trainers in "Managing Your GERME Business Better" in each of the ECOWAS Member States (and Mauritania). The final phase of the training cycle, scheduled to begin in December 2020 in each country in the region, requires national trainers to complete a Training of Entrepreneurs (ToE) to assess their knowledge and training skills. The training for entrepreneurs will be physically delivered by national trainers in accordance with all precautionary measures and COVID-19 regulations.

With this advert, we encourage entrepreneurs (or potential entrepreneurs) from the West African region who may be interested in receiving GERME training to express their interest. To this end, interested candidates are invited to send a CV and motivation letter to the relevant training institution and copy it to UNIDO's national advisor (please refer to the email addresses indicated below) by 10 December 2020 at noon UTC at the latest, and mention: "WACOMP_Training Entrepreneurs".

The selection of participants for the training will be made from among the interested candidates and will be based on the general and business-related GERME selection criteria, as described below:

All candidates:

• Literacy level
• Level of numerical knowledge

Potential entrepreneurs:

• Level of motivation and willingness to start a business
• Have a concrete business idea
• Have the technical skills needed to start the business

Existing entrepreneurs:

• Having a viable business
• Business experience
• Position in the business

Not a requirement - but preference will be given to:

• Women entrepreneurs
• Young entrepreneurs
• Entrepreneurs operating in the priority sectors identified in each relevant WACOMP national programme
• Entrepreneurs operating in the priority sectors identified in the WACOMP regional programme
• Entrepreneurs operating or planning to operate in rural, border or corridor areas

To download contact details, click here

The West African Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP) | ITCILO