The GER Initiative Update
CHF International

SO1: PRIVATE SECTOR-LED ECONOMIC GROWTH
posted by Skip Waskin on Thursday, September 15, 2005 1:56 AM

August was unusually busy for the GER Initiative. Fifty-five businesses were improved or expanded, nine new startups were created, 231 people were matched to jobs, and 40 new job placements were generated.

Training. Some 268 clients participated in business training in August. Special training was provided in building insulation, agricultural cellars, and banking operations.

Consulting. GER provided consulting services to 355 clients in August, about half of them new to the project. The specialized consultancies included helping a client in Dornod write a business plan, so that he could obtain funding for new equipment purchases. The client’s expanded business is expected to generate at least one new job.

Financial Services. GER facilitated or financed 139 loans worth over $115,000 in August, and 25 Capital Augmentation Fund (CAF) loans were disbursed in the amount of over $25,000. GER banking partners contributed $6,250 toward these loans. To date, the project has had a total of 49 late payers, thirteen of which are bad loans and five of which are default loans.

Information and Linkages. GER currently works with 66 active groups. Two business groups that have been operational for greater than six months have recently received fixed asset grants to assist with their ongoing production. Some 291 people accessed 438 information services from GER in August. Two microenterprise tax seminars were held, GER created a linkage between a tourist company and yak rope group, and a jam group in Erdenet ramped up its deliveries to Ivanhoe Mines. A small trade fair was organized for Speaker Hastert’s CODEL; 27 clients participated, and collectively had sales of $3,250. GER organized a meeting between retail sales clients and large food product producers/sellers in August. Introductions resulted in 30 GER clients buying at more favorable wholesale process, and establishing regular delivery to their shops. Meetings were also held with several mining and drilling companies to try and link them to project businesses.

Employment Matching and Training. Some 278 GER clients participated in employment training and 27 participated in vocational training in August. Social welfare and labor authorities visited one GER branch; the Minister and other authorities were pleased with project employment services, and sought ways to cooperate in the future. Two GER branches organized a “labor days” event, where 32 clients were placed with companies that attended. Ninety clients were also matched to jobs in Darkhan with a textile company. Finally, human resource management training was held for thirteen large and mid-sized employers from UB in August.

Other. GER staff and clients participated in a demonstration event organized by Agpromo in August, and a new branch opening ceremony was held. GER and Gobi collaborated on agricultural training in Bayanhongor, and Congressman Leach visited a GER branch and was briefed on the project. Also in August, GER finished surveys of Tuv, Selenge, Bulgan, Orhon and Dornod aimags, and four soums and three remote districts of UB, in conjunction with expansions scheduled for next April.

The GER Initiative Update
CHF International

SO1: PRIVATE SECTOR-LED ECONOMIC GROWTH
posted by Skip Waskin on Thursday, August 11, 2005 9:18 PM

July was not as busy as June for the GER Initiative. Still, 20 businesses were improved and expanded, seven new startups were created, 51 people were matched to jobs, and 32 new job placements were generated.

Training. Some 95 clients participated in business training this month, with special training taking place in vegetable, fruit, and swine production.

Consulting. GER provided consulting services to 181 clients in July; 86 (47%) of them are ongoing clients and 95 were new clients. Special consultancies included work on handicrafts; sewing clients; café and restaurant operations; and a client who makes fuel bricks from animal dung.

Financial Services. GER facilitated or financed 48 loans in July, worth about $37,840. Eight Capital Augmentation Fund (CAF) loans were facilitated, disbursing a total of about $5,275.

Information and Linkages. Some 137 GER clients accessed 207 information services from the project in July. Highlights include:

• GER developed its capacity to implement the khashaa valuation survey by developing a valuation data base and manual.
• Two handicraft trade fairs were held for Naadam in Ulaanbaatar.
• The Yarmag office organized clients to meet with large food products producers. Introductions resulted in eleven GER clients buying at favorable wholesale prices and coordinating factory delivery to their shops.
• GER made a linkage between the Gazriin Uguuj jam group and Ivanhoe Mines. The jam group is ready to deliver the first order of 220 jars of strawberry jam.
• Terguun Shaglaa, a sewing/textile group, has been actively pursuing linkages with large companies. This came to fruition in July, with a $1150 order for work gloves from a local mine.
• The community day fairs were completed in July. Five one-day fairs were run over three weekends; 170 clients participated, and roughly $4500 in sales was made in purchases and orders. Savings Bank supported all of the community days, and TV media covered three of the events.

Employment Matching and Training. Eighty-six GER clients participated in employment training and six in vocational training in July. The Darkhan Business Development Center is developing a relationship with Shuvuutiin Gol Trade LLC, a new manufacturer of soap powder who will eventually be hiring 43 employees. Meanwhile, some of the GER clients placed in jobs at the DOZT company have become full time workers with significant increases in salary.

Other. GER opened the Ulaanbaatar Dambadarjaa branch office in July, and received a request from the governor of Jargalan soum to open a branch office there. Also in July, the Choibalsan Newspaper ran an article about USAID Representative Skip Waskin’s visit to Choibalsan in June, and an article about the success of one of the GER Initiative clients.

The GER Initiative Update
CHF International

SO1: PRIVATE SECTOR-LED ECONOMIC GROWTH
posted by Skip Waskin on Monday, July 18, 2005 8:58 PM

June was a good month for the GER Initiative. Some 34 businesses were improved and expanded, 15 new startups were created, 151 people were matched to jobs, and 54 new job placements were generated.

Training. GER had 350 participants in business training in June. Special training focused on butchers, swine operations, accounting, business start-ups, and stove producers.

Consulting. Some 446 GER clients participated in consulting services this month; 42% of them are ongoing clients and the balance are new clients. Special consultancies focused on textile design, and handicraft design and marketing.

Financial Services. GER helped facilitate 154 loans in June, worth $130,672. This was down about 30% from May, as expected due to seasonal patterns. A total of 34 Capital Augmentation Fund loans were also made in June, worth about $25,800; banking partners contributed about $10,800 toward these loans.

Employment Matching. GER had 251 clients participate in employment training, and 23 participate in vocational training, in June. Erdenet BDC started collaborating with large employers to conduct interviews with candidates at the GER branch office, which has resulted in several positive placements. Employers are contracting candidates with minimum 6-month employment agreements, and in June these interviews resulted in 16 placements. As a result of a one-day Employment Fair in the Yarmag area of western Ulaanbaatar, a total of 26 people were matched to jobs.

Business Association Support. GER is currently working with 98 active business associations in the four project areas. In June, Erdenet business groups participated in a trade fair in collaboration with the Erdenet Chamber of Commerce. In Darkhan, a sewing group received orders for 3000 pairs of gloves from a concrete factory and an order of 200 pairs of gloves per month from a local brick factory. In response to the failed business groups that GER has been working with, the project is designing training materials to try to help them democratically solve their organizational problems.

Information and Linkages. Some 362 GER clients accessed information services last month. The project linked a Malaysian distributor of bakery products with GER clients; a yak rope group with an Erdenet mining company; and an Erdenet carpet company with small-scale carpet makers. GER clients continued to provide pork to Boroo mines, and participated in a “Friendship-2005” fair in Erdenet sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the aimag governor’s office.

Community Days. Community days were successfully organized by the project in all five branches in June. The events were well attended and received a lot of television coverage. They also resulted in an increase number of clients at the branches.