SPARK Igniting Youth Entrepreneurship for Peace building SPARK

SPARK Igniting Youth Entrepreneurship for Peace building

SPARK VIDEO

SPARK: OUR MISSION SPARK develops higher education and entrepreneurship so that young ambitious people are empowered to lead their post-conflict societies into prosperity

SPARK: OUR APPROACH 3 strategic objectives towards job creation • Built capacity of local partners • Direct entrepreneurship activities • Create enabling business environment • Strengthen abilities of interest groups • Advocacy activities

BURUNDI: A STORY Jacques Niyonkuru in Burundi Carpentry Bizoza ‘I have the goal of producing just affordable furniture to overtake the majority of the Mabanda furniture market and to provide other young, unemployed youth with work’ • From refugee camps in Tanzania • Support of reintegration programme UNDP / SPARK • Training & coaching • Now 6 employees • Plans for a showroom • Towards competing with other towns

KOSOVO: A STORY ‘From fruit boxes and pizza boxes to fancy mobile phone packing: Rrul Pack can make it all!’ Rrul Pack in Kosovo Cardboard packing & Paper bags • Business plan competition by BSC Kosovo (first) • Winner: loan • Obstacle: inefficient, premature legal system • 4 full-time workers: variety of backgrounds • Collecting used paper: income for 20 more people • Towards: working more regional and collaborations

SPARK: CHALLENGES (1) Dilemma How to generate rapid job creation on the one hand sustainable businesses and a favorable business climate on the other? • Without quick results the situation will deteriorate • Delivering bad results will backfire and be unsustainable

SPARK: CHALLENGES (2) Dilemma How to find the balance between inclusiveness and still acceptable job creation and success rate. Is it about direct employment of the poorest, or middle class development, that will employ the poorest? • Too strong a social agenda will lead to poor results • No social agenda will lead to further enriching the rich

SPARK: CHALLENGES (3) Double Client Relationship Demand: Priorities & Needs of Local Partners Funding Opportunities/ Donor Policies SPARK Mission, Capacity & Expertise

SPARK: CHALLENGES (4) Double Risk in Access to Finance How to create sustainable a 2 f instruments for Small Growing Business at the bottom of the “missing middle”. • Starting and small business represent higher risks • Fragile environments represent higher risk • Financial return on investment vs. social impact.

SPARK: CONCRETE ACTIVITIES Setting up & developing Business Support Centers • • Business skills training and coaching Soft loans Training of coaches, business skills trainers Training of staff on management and organization Curriculum development at TVET and HE institutions Removing business barriers Mediation in the education and economic sector

SPARK: BUSINESS CENTERS Extensive study on South East Europe • • Integrated (comprehensive) SME development services Differentiate between entrepreneurship vs. business development Relate advocacy to SPARK expertise (education, access to finance) Involve commercial business service providers Focus on businesses with growth and job creation potential Scaling MSMEs to become growing SMEs Access to finance the missing gap Sustainability planning from day 1

SPARK: RESULTS In focus: since 2005 in terms of Business Centres • • 24 Business Start-up Centers (BSC) 14, 000 participants in business skills 27, 000 hours of consultancy/coaching provided 171 loans awarded (2 million euro; 90+% repayment) 350 business start-ups created (2010: 96% survival rate) 250 existing businesses supported Helped create 2400 direct jobs Helped create …. . Indirect jobs

SPARK: OUR ORGANIZATION • 75+ employees • 15 staff in HQ Amsterdam • 15 ml USD, 2013 budget: o 6 EU governments + EC o WB + UNDP o Chevron o Rwanda, Libya, Kosovo • Transparent and learning • IATI+ / Brilliant Mistakes • Quality: ISO 4 Development • New website to link inputoutput-outcome-impact Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Liberia, Libya, Yemen, OPT, Syria, Kosovo, Serbia