Sana’a, Yemen November 11, 2009
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is expanding its support for smaller businesses in Yemen by helping a growing number of men and women in the country acquire business and management skills.
IFC has signed agreements with six training providers in Yemen to offer Business Edge, an IFC management training product that helps strengthen business skills to improve the business performance and competitiveness of individuals and firms.
IFC is hosting a workshop from November 7-11 to certify 10 people as Business Edge trainers. These new trainers will then be able to expand business training opportunities in the country.
Since IFC launched Business Edge in Yemen in 2004, the program has trained 7,000 unique individuals, of which 15 percent were women, with an average repeat rate of three courses per person. The program is seeking to train 15,000 more people over the next three years. IFC is also working to expand Business Edge training to more rural areas in Yemen.
IFC’s Yemen Country Manager, Raymond Conway, said, “IFC’s Business Edge offers Yemenis access to business training that is vital to create an active private sector, especially for smaller businesses. By giving smaller business the tools to grow, Yemen will see increased growth and job opportunities.”
Britain’s DFID has contributed to a three-year program to finance multiple projects in Yemen, which will be implemented by IFC and the Foreign Investment Advisory Service (FIAS) in collaboration with the Yemeni government and the private sector. This funding will assist IFC Advisory Services efforts’ in addressing the obstacles faced by the private sector of one of the region’s most challenging markets.
IFC’s Business Edge is delivered by selected local training partners and certified local trainers and sets a new standard for business training in developing countries. It was rolled out in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2004 and is available in Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, and Yemen, and in other IFC regions including Latin America and the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial crisis. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
