The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has endorsed efforts to broaden the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) programme in Nigeria, describing structured entrepreneurship training as important to strengthening small businesses, improving productivity and generating employment.

The endorsement followed the announcement by Simply Exponential Consult Limited of the rollout of the ILO SIYB Train-the-Trainer (ToT) Programme in Lagos and Abuja. The initiative is designed to increase the number of professionals capable of providing structured business support to entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, Founder and Managing Partner of Simply Exponential Consult and ILO-certified Master Trainer, Morounfayo Williams, said the two-week hybrid certification programme would take place from September 21 to October 5, 2026. It will be followed by a 30-day implementation and mentoring phase.

Williams explained that the programme seeks to strengthen the capacity of professionals working with entrepreneurs and SMEs so they can provide practical and standardised entrepreneurship training.

She said the ILO SIYB programme has been implemented in more than 90 countries and offers practical training packages designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs develop viable business ideas, establish enterprises and improve existing businesses.

The training will focus on three core packages: Generate Your Business Idea (GYBI), Start Your Business (SYB) and Improve Your Business (IYB). Participants will also work with practical learning resources, including business simulation games, role plays, life cards, record-keeping exercises and participant manuals covering business planning, marketing, adult learning and trainer guides.

Williams stressed that completion of the classroom component alone would not result in certification. Participants must conduct step-down training for entrepreneurs during a 30-day implementation and supervision period. Their delivery will subsequently be observed before they can receive final certification.

The programme is intended for business development service providers, SME desk officers in financial institutions, managers of enterprise development organisations and microfinance institutions, entrepreneurship trainers and other professionals who support small businesses. The programme fee is N765,000.

According to Williams, obtaining the certification could also enhance the international competitiveness of Nigerian trainers. She noted that ILO-certified professionals can qualify for entrepreneurship training assignments and tenders in different countries.

She identified SIYB’s practical methodology as one of its key strengths, explaining that simulations and exercises are used to teach entrepreneurs subjects including marketing, financial management, record keeping, planning, stock control and productivity.

Standardisation is another significant element of the programme, Williams said, as it enables trained facilitators to apply the methodology consistently across countries while adapting it to local business environments.

Representing NECA Director-General Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, Director, Social and Labour Affairs/Projects, Adenike Adebayo-Ajala, said the private sector supported initiatives aimed at strengthening small businesses, generating jobs and promoting economic growth.

She also emphasised the need for structured business training in areas such as costing, record keeping, access to finance and market linkages, particularly because many small businesses continue to face difficulties with the fundamentals needed for survival and expansion.

Williams disclosed that more than 5,000 people have been trained in Nigeria under the SIYB framework, while at least four active master trainers are currently operating in the country.

The latest ToT programme follows an earlier ILO SIYB training conducted in Abuja in December 2025. That programme trained 24 participants drawn from organisations including the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Job Centres, NECA, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria.

The December 2025 training was intended to establish a foundation for step-down training and facilitate the wider expansion of SIYB across Nigeria.

The new initiative is expected to produce a multiplier effect by equipping more Nigerian professionals with the capacity to train entrepreneurs, potentially increasing access to standardised business knowledge and practical support for SMEs across the country.

The organisers and NECA said strengthening the capacity of professionals who train and advise entrepreneurs could contribute to better-managed businesses, higher productivity, job creation and a stronger entrepreneurship ecosystem in Nigeria.

Source: msmeafricaonline