Empretec Annual Report 2011 - Unctad XI

In 2011, the programme continued to expand: 806 Empretecworkshops were delivered, 17,792 entrepreneurs trained and17 new national Empretec trainers were certified. Empretec wasre-launched in South Africa, where a new collaboration with SEDA(Small Enterprise Development Agency) led to the organization offour ETWs, with the assistance of international trainers from Brazil,Botswana, Ghana and Tanzania.A pilot ETW in the Russian Federation was organized incooperation with the Russian Bank for Development and ForeignEconomic Affairs.The XVIII Empretec Directors Meeting, held in Pretoria, SouthAfrica, on 18-21 October 2011, was attended by Directorsfrom 21 Empretec Centres from Africa, Latin America and theMiddle East, and representatives of UNDP South Africa. Theannual meeting, hosted by SEDA (Small Enterprise DevelopmentAgency), was organized along with a Regional Empretectraining workshop (ETW) jointly set up by UNCTAD and SEDA.The training workshop gave the opportunity to six entrepreneursfrom neighbouring countries (Botswana, Tanzania, Zambia, andZimbabwe) to join a group of 21 South African entrepreneurs.During the meeting a number of issues were discussed tofacilitate strategic vision, sustainability and new products of theprogramme. In particular the importance of the following aspectswas addressed:• Sustainability model;• Collection of impact indicators and measures;• Dissemination of new products and services developed(accounting, micro-entrepreneurs) to complement theEmpretec workshop ;• Use of social media for networking;• Regional cooperation (Latin America and Africa)Amongst the various achievements attained by Empretec NationalCentres during 2011, two deserve a special mention as theyinvolve the global Empretec network:• a training manual for micro-entrepreneurs has beendeveloped and will be shared with all the centres;• South Africa has joined the Empretec network and hostedthe XVIII Empretec Directors’ Meeting in Pretoria, 18-21October 2011.Special initiatives in 2011Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW): During the thirdweek of November 2011, several events were hosted byUNCTAD and Empretec centres around the world.Women in Business Award: In October 2011, UNCTADdisclosed the 10 finalists of its third edition of the EmpretecWomen in Business Award, a special recognition that hashelped women to become role models in their communities andmade a real impact on the lives of past recipients, increasing theiraccess to education and resources, and their motivation to continuegrowing their enterprises. Winners will be announced during theUNCTAD XIII quadrennial conference in Doha, Qatar, in April 2012.Empretec Directors’ Meeting 2011, Pretoria, South Africa – Group PhotoEMPRETEC ANNUAL REPORT 2011 9