Ten master trainers from four African countries have completed an International Labour Organisation (ILO) programme designed to expand business management training and strengthen the capacity of small enterprises across the continent.

The graduates from Nigeria, Liberia, Uganda and Somalia completed the 10-day ILO Start and Improve Your Business International Training of Master Trainers (SIYB-IToMT), organised by Mind+ Facilitation Co. Nigeria Ltd in partnership with Masterpeace Resource Development Centre (MRDC).

Held at Peace Deluxe Hotel, Redemption City, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State, the programme equips participants to train and certify other business development trainers, who will then provide management training to aspiring and existing entrepreneurs in their communities.

The initiative aimed to expand access to structured business management knowledge by building a network of qualified trainers who can support small businesses across the four participating countries and beyond.

Start and Improve Your Business is an ILO business management training programme for small enterprises. It comprises three core packages: Generate Your Business Idea (GYB), Start Your Business (SYB) and Improve Your Business (IYB).

Master trainers play a critical role in the programme’s delivery structure, training and certifying SIYB trainers who transfer business management skills to entrepreneurs.

During the training, participants covered adult learning methodologies; the organisation and delivery of training-of-trainers programmes across the three SIYB packages; and practice facilitation, coaching, assessment, and quality assurance. They also worked with the SIYB Game and SIYB Gateway.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), in a goodwill message delivered on behalf of its Director-General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, described micro, small and medium enterprises as the lifeblood of African economies.

The association stressed the importance of strong management skills and structured guidance to help businesses thrive, noting that entrepreneurial passion alone was insufficient to sustain growth.

Joining virtually from Geneva, ILO SIYB programme representative Cheuk Yu Cheryl Chan congratulated the graduates. It urged them to maintain programme quality standards, strengthen professional networks, and adapt their training approaches to entrepreneurs’ changing needs.

Stephen Kyalibulha, an ILO SIYB Master Trainer Developer from Uganda, led the programme, with Noruwa Joseph Edokpolo, Principal Consultant at Mind+ Facilitation and an ILO SIYB Master Trainer Developer Candidate, serving as co-facilitator.