ILO launches new phase of business plan competition for refugees and host communities in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization (ILO), in partnership with FC Africa Development and with support from the Government of the Netherlands through the PROSPECTS partnership, has launched a new phase of the Integrated Business Plan Competition (BPC) in three regions of Ethiopia.

The initiative will be implemented in the Somali, Benishangul-Gumuz and Amhara regions, reaching refugees and host community members in Jigjiga, Kebribeyah, Assosa and Dabat refugee operations.

Participants will receive entrepreneurship training, business plan development support, coaching, mentoring, financial education and as well as support to access finance. The programme will also help participants formalize and license their businesses and access skills development services.

At the launch, Khumbula Ndaba, ILO Country Director for Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, said the competition would help translate economic inclusion into employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people. “This Business Plan Competition further strengthens the ILO's efforts to create decent jobs for young people,” he said. Ndaba also noted that the initiative supports Ethiopia's MAKATET Roadmap, which promotes economic inclusion, self-reliance and improved livelihood opportunities for refugees and host communities.

Khumbula Ndaba, ILO Director for Country Office Addis Ababa, making remarks

The competition will support 3,000 aspiring and existing entrepreneurs through the ILO's Generate Your Business Idea (GYB) training. From this group, 1,500 participants will advance to the Start Your Business (SYB) training programme to develop and refine their business concepts. Following a competitive selection process, 450 entrepreneurs with the most promising business plans will receive seed capital and tailored business development support to launch or expand their enterprises. Participants who do not receive seed capital will be linked, where possible, with formal banks and microfinance institutions.

The new phase builds on the achievements of previous Business Plan Competitions implemented under the PROSPECTS Partnership in the Somali and Amhara regions. These initiatives enabled refugee and host community entrepreneurs with business management training and assistance to establish or strengthen enterprises.

Experience from the earlier competitions has informed design of the new phase to including its wider reach and the combination of training, business planning, finance and post-training services.

Tiest Sondaal, Regional Migration Coordinator and Deputy Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ethiopia, emphasized the importance of economic self-reliance: “Refugees don’t want to be passive recipients of aid. They want to contribute to the communities that provide them refuge and provide a living for themselves and their families.”

Representing the Government of Ethiopia, Tiumezgi Fekadu, CEO of Industrial Relations and Labour Inspection at the Ministry of Labour and Skills, highlighted the practical opportunities offered by the programme. “Today’s launch is fundamentally about opportunity,” he said.

The Business Plan Competition forms part of the broader PROSPECTS partnership, which brings together the Government of the Netherlands, the ILO, IFC, UNHCR, UNICEF and the World Bank to improve access to education, social protection, decent work and sustainable livelihoods for refugees and host communities.

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