A PAGE-facilitated green entrepreneurship training was held to assist business owners in improving ecological standards by fostering the greening of their businesses. The nine entrepreneurs all work within local agriculture and non-timber forest product (NTFP) processing and sustainable trade.
This particular training course falls under an ILO programme, which overall plans to develop a coaching package for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to guide them in greening their businesses. In addition, each enterprise will receive personal coaching in order to identify bottlenecks and opportunities to green their business plan.
The nine participants received certificates from the Maison de l’Entreprise du Burkina Faso (MEB), which delivered the training — an ogranization that works to build a strong and competitive private sector to drive economic development in Burkina Faso. The PAGE National Coordinator, Albert Compaoré and Focal point, Polycarpe Becquet Bationo were also in attendance and provided inputs into the course.
Among the entrepreneurs involved were Félicité Yaméogo, the founder of New Karitis, a company producing shea butter and Ms. Bassonon, Director of Faso Attiéké, a company that produces attiéké, a popular West-African cassava-based dish. The latter received an awarded for producing the best quality attiéké.
Following the training, the project will develop a guide to green jobs creation for SMEs. Supporting this activity, a consultant has been recruited and the study has commenced, with a report expected to be completed September 2020. According to the ILO, the findings of the project could inform a regional project to follow in the area of greening of SMEs.