Inter-Regional Centre for Entrepreneurship and Investment Training

Developing countries, by and large, are endowed with natural resources as also certain competitive advantages that offer a variety of industrial opportunities. A systematic approach to identification of business opportunities, formulation and appraisal of business plans and focussing on cost effective technologies is bound to open new vistas for industrial development. An enabling environment and effective support system add to the pace of development.

Research by UNIDO indicates that lack of entrepreneurial abilities as also of well-studied industrial projects act as key constraints to industrialisation of developing countries.

The challenges of the day -- thinking global, developing competitive edge through new/appropriate technologies, promoting private investments, facilitating strategic alliances/joint ventures leading to `collaborative competition' -- can be met only through building capacity of individuals and institutions responsible for investment promotion/industrial development. Further, capacity to perceive viable business opportunities, relate the same to one's competitive advantage and translate these into industrial ventures, call for a supply of competent entrepreneurs.

Thus, the IRC envisions building country capacities for promoting investments in the industrial sector and developing appropriate competencies of entrepreneurs to formulate, launch and successfully manage enterprises.

The major outcome of the 1st Phase of the project could be listed down as under :

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Arab Regional Centre for Entrepreneurship & Investment Training (ARCEIT) became functional in Bahrain in February 2001 as a Regional Focal Point for the Arab Region
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In Mozambique (African Region), a core group of national professionals from various stakeholder institutions were brought together under the umbrella of Investment Advisory Centre (IAC) and the Centre was legalized as the Advisory Centre for Industrial Development (CADI) in November 2001. CADI is now providing a variety of training and advisory services to both private and public sectors on a self-sustainable manner.
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In Saudi Arabia, Saudi Entrepreneurship Development Institute (SEDI) was set up in Jeddah, sponsored by Saudi German Hospitals Group with technical support from UNIDO.
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Built the capacities of over 200 professionals from Asia, Africa and Arab Regions in the area of Project Development Cycle.

Realizing that in the context of South-South Cooperation, India has a lot to offer to developing countries in terms of capacity building as well as in creation of new enterprises and upgrading of existing enterprises by way of joint venture partnerships, technology transfer etc., the Centre as a part of the 2nd Phase of the project titled ‘Towards Millennium Development Goal (1-8) : A South-South Response of Poverty Alleviation’ has taken up the following countries :

* Lao PDR
* Mozambique
* Sudan
* Yemen
* North East Region of India

The Need

* To assign competitive edge to existing SMEs in the present era of globalization and liberalization
* To increase the supply of trained entrepreneurs thereby fostering economic growth in selected countries

Target Beneficiaries

The target beneficiaries who will directly benefit from the project are :

* Potential entrepreneurs in the targeted countries
* Existing Enterprises in selected clusters or industrial sector in the targeted countries
* Master Entrepreneur Trainer-Motivators and Business Counsellors.


Target Outcome

The expected tangible and intangible results of the project are as follows:

* New Enterprise Creation in selected sub-sectors :

o 10 to 15 new enterprises created in each of the 4 target countries
o 5 to 10 partnerships with Indian enterprises in each of the 4 target countries
* Enterprise Upgrading in Selected Clusters/Sectors :
o Competitiveness of 10 to 15 enterprises enhanced in each of the 4 target countries
o 5 to 10 partnerships developed with Indian enterprises in each of the 4 countries
o Competitiveness of about 75 enterprises enhanced in the North East Region of India and about 80 counsellors developed
* Dynamism induced in one cluster in each target country through technology tie-ups, local training interventions and cluster networking
* Strengthening national capabilities in target countries for sustaining above activities through developing/capacity building of Master Trainers.