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Box 1 Empowering Indigenouspeoples throughEntrepreneurshipThe ILO-INDISCO Programme was launched in thePhilippines in 1994 in collaboration with the PhilippineGovernment. It is a multi-bilateral technicalcooperation aimed at strengthening the self-relianceof indigenous and tribal peoples through entrepreneurialactivity. It has facilitated the operation of 12pilot projects in different parts of the country, whichinvolve indigenous communities in various stagesof development. Financial and technical assistancehas been provided to indigenous communities toengage in entrepreneurship.The main window of opportunity for income andemployment generation opened to community memberswas the Revolving Loan Fund, which providesassistance to groups and individuals for theirlivelihoods activities. Together with skills training ona particular trade the community wanted to pursue,plus appropriate equipment bought from projectfunds, members of several indigenous communitiesmanaged to improve their market access and economicstatus. Twelve communities with a combinedpopulation of approximately 90,000 people havebenefi ted directly or indirectly from these projects.An estimated 2,500 jobs in agriculture, traditionalhandicraft, fi shery, weaving and community serviceswere created. As a result of the new revenue-generatingactivities, the income levels of partnercommunities have increased by an average of 44percent. In recent years, the ILO has been providingtechnical assistance to some projects fundedthrough the Small Grant Fund from the Embassy ofFinland. The fund has supported various projectsproposed by the Indigenous communities.Source: ILOEmpowering Informal BusinessesClearly, the informal business economy also linksformal sectors to consumers. In fact it providesmany low and middle-income employees of theformal sector with goods and services and contributesto economic growth. Economic growth,while a necessary condition, is not a sufficientcondition for creating productive employment andpoverty reduction. As discussed earlier, an increasein economic growth does not usually resultin the alleviation of an informal economy or thetransition from informal to formal unless it alsobrings greater equity. A positive outcome wouldreflect an approach that regards people living inpoverty as creators of growth rather than merelyas recipients of benefits. 49 We should, therefore,focus on empowering the poor and the disadvantaged,whether as self-employed producersand entrepreneurs or as employees of a firm. Itis important that these economic actors participatefully and on an equal basis in the economicdevelopmentSome of the critical barriers faced by firms inthe informal economy include limited humanand working capital, limited access to markets,goods and services and to financial and businesssupport services, obsolete technology, complexand burdensome government regulations with poorenforcement, lack of economic infrastructure anda poor supply of public services. Given the impedimentsto operate businesses in most developingcountries, the opportunity costs of informalityappear to be much lower compared to operatingformally. It is therefore not surprising that informalnetworks also coordinate many transactionsamong the formal enterprises. Emphasis must fallon improving the business environment, and in amanner that it is particularly beneficial for enterpriseat local level, including the rural areas. Forinstance, India’s economic reforms, which alsocover the business environment, have generallyfocused on the corporate and the organised sectorthat provides employment to nearly three percentof the country’s work force, with another three to217