Growing Entrepreneurs Rapidly (GER) Initiative

CHF International
www.chfmongolia.org  

In October, GER helped to improve or expand 49 businesses and created 30 start-up businesses. These businesses, in turn, have generated 117 new jobs. Also this month, the GER Initiative matched 85 ger area residents to jobs.

Development Solutions

In October, the local NGO, Development Solutions (DS), began providing business development services under the GER Initiative. During October, CHF assisted DS in:

-- Hiring most of the planned project staff. The remaining three positions will be filled in November.

-- Holding a two day all staff training event on program policies and procedures as well as creative marketing and branding, improving efficiency, service improvement, new ideas and achieving targets. Participating Peace Corps volunteers conducted team building activities.

-- Setting up financial and administrative procedures related to implementing GER Initiative and tracking program results.

Financial services

GER facilitated 35 loans, valued at $50,029 with local partner banks. No new USDA funded Capital Augmentation Fund (CAF) loans were disbursed this month.

Due to the Mongol Bank's decision earlier in 2008 to pursue a tighter monetary policy, commercial banks have reduced or even stopped loan disbursements to micro and small businesses. XacBank is the only GER financial partner that continues to lend on a consistent basis, though at a much reduced rate. This decrease in lending is affecting demand for other GER services as clients are less likely to take training if they cannot access the resources necessary to expand or improve their business.

In Baganuur, GER organized a micro loan campaign with XacBank. The goal of campaign was to support start-ups with loan facilitation services and to train micro businesses on micro loans. The campaign information was given by GER and XacBank on the local TV channel BBS and at the khoroo meetings. As a result of the campaign, 14 micro loans have been approved and seven clients involved in retail trading and production have started their businesses.

XacBank, in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Petrovis LLC, is organizing the TV reality show "Life is Always Good". The project will provide loans and technical resources to clients who are interested in running a business. The aim of the project is to let the public know that there is an opportunity for everyone to improve their livelihood by running small or micro businesses. For the first stage, 38 people of which six are GER clients from UB were chosen and their loan proposals have been approved. The chosen candidates attended "Start-Up Business" and "Market Research" trainings conducted by GER Business Advisors.

Training and Consulting Services

GER conducted 111 trainings with 21 clients participating, and 122 consultations were provided to 94 clients in October. At the request of the Dornod Aimag's Labor and Welfare Service Department, GER provided a five-day training on "Preparing a Micro Loan Proposal and Computer-based Bookkeeping" for business owners and clients interested in starting a business . A total of 15 clients attended the training and gained knowledge and skills on allocating resourses properly, planning business activities in advance, controlling expenditures, calculating and keeping records, and writing micro loan proposals.

On October 22nd GER organized a Vegetable Preserving Training in Zuunmod. Four clients learned about different types of pickles and preserves during the two-hour training. One of the attendees, who currently runs a bakery shop, plans to expand her business by opening a vegetable preserving shop in the future.

In this month, there was a high demand for financial statement consulting services among registered businesses before the deadline of submission of quarterly financial statements and tax reports. Approximately thirty-percent of business consulting services this month were related to financial statements. GER advisors assisted the clients to prepare and send financial statements and operational tax reports over the Internet.

The Erdenet, the Labor and Welfare Service Department has been disbursing loans through Mongol Post, Anod and Khan banks to generate and increase jobs. A total of 18 clients received GER consulting services on writing loan proposals and developing business plans and applied for the loans. To date three proposals have been approved and the clients received loans averaging $3,933.

Information Services

In Erdenet, GER organized an Information Day at the local market "Khuleg" to introduce business development services to the traders operating in the market. During the event, GER advisors explained the benefits of the different types of services offered by the program. Business owners were especially interested in accounting booklets. Seventeen clients purchased booklets to keep their business records.

Employment Services

GER matched 85 clients to jobs and eight clients graduated from vocational trainings including refrigerator repair, hairdressing and food services through partner vocational training centers. Eighty employment trainings were held for 40 clients. A total of 117 jobs were generated through GER's new and expanded/improved businesses.

Several new employment service relationships were established with local businesses including: "SeBoTse" LLC-auto repair and spare parts dealer, "BOSA Impex" LLC - grocery store chain, "Od" - hotel, "Chinggis Khaan" College and "Tsagaan Shonkhor" LLC-construction company. Those employers started to send their job vacancies to the GER branches and GER matched candidates to fill the positions.

At the request of the Sukhbaatar District's Labor and Welfare Service Dept., Sukhbaatar GER provided the "New Start" training for the registered unemployed clients on October 16th and 17th. The 15-hour training covered topics such as labor law, writing resumes and cover letters, preparing for job interview and soft skills. Of the 12 clients who attended the training, six were matched with employers and the remaining six clients received additional vocational trainings from GER's partner vocational training centers.

Linkages and Trade Fairs

GER facilitated linkages between businesses worth approximately $30,987 this month. In Erdenet, the annual harvest fair "Green Days of Autumn - 2008" was organized by GER and the Aimag's Governor Office. Sixty clients, including 20 from GER, sold their home-grown and home processed vegetables. Approximately $22,089 worth of vegetables were sold at the event.

Business Groups Development

GER worked with 96 active groups this month. No groups were formed and none disbanded this month. A couple of business groups in Darkhan, "Munkh Tsast" and "Darkhan Setgemj," completed work orders for a variety of goods, from brooms to ger rope this month.

"Chandmani Erdene," a group of handicapped business owners in Darkhan, received consultation from GER in preparation for a UB handicraft trade fair. The group participated in the trade fair successfully and made sales worth over $227.