The GER Initiative Update
CHF International

SO1: PRIVATE SECTOR-LED ECONOMIC GROWTH
posted by Skip Waskin on Thursday, May 18, 2006, 3:09AM

In April, GER improved or expanded 91 businesses, created 12 new startups, matched 127 people to jobs, and generated 109 new job placements.

Training and consulting. GER provided business training to 325 clients and consulting services to 428 clients. Over 60% of consulting clients were repeat clients. The consultancies focused on farming, wool production, and construction.

Financial services. GER facilitated 117 loans worth $111,667 in April, 36% of which involved purchasing fixed assets. This includes 18 Capital Augmentation Fund (CAF) loans worth $34,042, 83% of which involved purchasing fixed assets. At the end of the month, only 31 of the 949 outstanding facilitated loans in the portfolio were in arrears, and only 11 of 188 outstanding CAF loans in the portfolio were in arrears. For the life of the project, there have been just five defaults in facilitated loans and one defaulted CAF loan.

Information. Five hundred and twenty-seven clients accessed information services this month. Of special note were the project’s continuing efforts to get regulators and regulated businesses together to discuss common issues. In Darkhan, GER organized a meeting between the Land Office and residents seeking to privatize their land; a Land Office official answered questions for 88 people, and helped resolve disputes over property lines. GER also hosted land workshops in Ulaanbaatar and Erdenet in April. In Ulaanbaatar, GER hosted a meeting between the Bayangol District Inspection Office, the City Governor’s Office, and 23 local grocery store operators. During the meeting, the inspector explained the common errors that occur during inspections and answered clients’ questions.

Linkages. Sixty-nine companies purchased goods and services from 80 GER clients in April. The total value of sales linkages was $9,223, up 53% from March. Sixty-four companies were involved with input linkages, and 65 GER clients benefited from these relationships. The total estimated savings to clients was $3,107, up 95% from last month. GER established relationships with nine new companies, including Bishrelt Hotel, Orange Restaurant, and Gatstuurt.

Business Associations. This month, GER provided services to 25 business groups, involving 148 people. The project works with 53 active business groups, including 3 new groups in Ulaanbaatar.

Employment Services. GER matched 127 clients with employers in March. The project established new relationships with six new companies including HKB International, Mon San, Orange Restaurant, and Mon Mak. In Erdenet, GER matched jobs with Habitat for Humanity, formed a relationship with a brick company, and organized an employment fair. In Choibalsan, GER coordinated with the local employment office to train 30 hair stylists.

Other. GER continued recruiting staff for its new offices in April in Bulgan, Sukhbaatar, Zuunmod and Baganuur.

The GER Initiative Update
CHF International

SO1: PRIVATE SECTOR-LED ECONOMIC GROWTH
posted by Skip Waskin on Monday, April 17, 2006, 4:05AM

In March, 84 businesses were improved or expanded with assistance from GER, 13 new startups were created, 106 people were matched to jobs, and 85 new job placements were generated.

Training and Consulting: GER provided consulting services to 375 clients in March, including 144 new clients, and business training to 487 clients. As the weather began to warm up, many of the services were agriculture-related. In Ulaanbaatar and Erdenet, a bakery specialist helped thirteen client businesses on quality control and new product development; monitoring carried out ten days later showed an increase in average sales of 5.1% for seven of the clients. In Choibalsan, a GER client increased her monthly sales by 33% and increased the number of repeat customers after offering an unusual televised “prize drawing” in association with Women’s Day. In Darkhan, GER organized agricultural training for eight clients and an agricultural tour for another 38 clients from UB and Choibalsan. And in Ulaanbaatar, GER held its first training session on electrical hazards for 18 clients. GER also provided customer service training for stall traders in Erdenet, and advanced accounting training for 15 clients.

Financial Services: GER facilitated 172 loans worth $159,550 in March; 48 of the loans (28%) were at least partly for fixed assets. This includes 26 Capital Augmentation Fund (CAF) loans worth $24,517. The average loan amount is $930 and the term is ten months. Comparing 2003 loans to 2005 loans, the average GER-facilitated loan is now more likely to be a fixed asset loans (9.2% in 2003 vs. 24% in 2005), with lower interest rates (3.29% in 2003 vs. 2.78% in 2005) and longer loan terms (6.36 months vs. 10.07 months). At the end of March, 36 of the 928 outstanding facilitated loans in the portfolio, and 13 of 183 outstanding CAF loans in the portfolio, were in arrears. Over the life of the project, there have been six defaults in facilitated loans, including one CAF loan.

Information: Some 391 clients accessed information services in March. Almost 25% of the clients were looking for agricultural information and GER sold out of its khashaa gardening manual (a khashaa is a fenced-in plot of land, usually in a ger area). Other popular information products were accounting booklets and bank information. New GER advertisements were shown on MNTV; and new client registrations were up 15% over February, attributed in part to the commercials—which many partner organizations saw.

Land and Property Meetings: GER worked on land issues with the GoM in Darkhan, Erdenet and Ulaanbaatar. In Darkhan, 260 people attended three days of meetings where representatives from the Land Office explained the land registration process and answered questions. In Erdenet, GER conducted an “open discussion” about land ownership involving the Erdenet city Governors office, the land office, and more than 50 local residents. The residents got answers on land and housing questions, and asked for a decrease in the cost of the real estate confirmation letter required when they apply for bank loans. In Jargalant, GER helped the Erdenet Land Office provide a “one stop shop” for residents to obtain land certificates. Around 50 people attended and 28 residents obtained their certificate or made progress in doing so. In Ulaanbaatar, 80 people attended two meetings in two GER branch offices with the land office.

Social Insurance Meeting: In Ulaanbaatar, GER organized a social insurance meeting with 70 ger residents and the district social insurance inspector. Residents wanted to know the benefits of obtaining private insurance, how it will work when they reach retirement age, how to obtain the insurance for unemployed and self-employed individuals, and how small businesses should ensure their employees are eligible.

Agricultural Meetings: GER held a number of agricultural meetings in March, including with the Choibalsan, Erdenet, and Darkhan Departments of Food and Agriculture (DFA). In Erdenet GER requested help in linking Jargalant vegetable growers to the Erdenet market, which will provide cleaner and healthier food products to Erdenet consumers and help Jargalant producers find a market. In Darkhan, the DFA and GER agreed to organize an Agricultural Trade Fair in April and to help vegetable producers attend the Golden Autumn Trade Fair in the fall in Ulaanbaatar.

Linkages: Sales linkages were up in March, with 29 companies purchasing goods and services from 44 GER clients. The total value of sales linkages was $6,021, up 12% from February. There were also six new linkages. Seventeen companies were involved with input linkages for the month, and 39 GER clients benefited; the total estimated savings to clients was $1,600.

Business Associations: GER provided 49 different types of services to 29 business groups in March, involving 161 people. Fifty 50 active business groups are working with the GER Initiative, including one new group in Choibalsan.

Employment Services: GER matched 106 clients with employers in March. It established new relationships with three companies, and signed formal agreements with a training center, a district employment office, and UB Online. Three Employment Days were organized in Ulaanbaatar, and GER conducted Human Resources Management training for 34 small and medium partner employers in coordination with the local employment offices.

Other Activities: GER opened a “mobile office” in Choibalsan in March that will rotate between the four remote Governors Offices each week. It also met with GTZ regarding plans to open a regional economic development project in Darkhan, Erdenet, and Zavkhan in June.