Business Development Services (BDS)
We provide technical assistance and skills transfer to both public and private sectors including start-ups, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), smallholder farmers, processors, traders, larger businesses, and government ministries. Our entrepreneur-focused business development services portfolio focuses on providing advice to entrepreneurs and SME owners to improve the performance of their enterprises. We work both with sophisticated business in urban areas as well rural based start-up business such youth, women and marginalized communities in remote areas to provide valuable advice, trainings and coaching that can save them wasted time and effort in accelerating business growth.
RCA provides comprehensive package of services including skills training, business development and mentoring to young people and also develops business development curriculum /training manuals to equip new and existing service providers with a set of methods and tools to help smallholder producers engage more effectively in local, regional and global markets. Our approach is based on consolidated framework of channeling best practices which is why our team of professionals has vast knowledge, gathered from the skills we have attained and similar engagements that we have carried out across East Africa over the years.
Our approach is not only consultative but also phased to ensure inputs and processes are linked of distinct tasks are linked to intended deliverables. This approach is suitable in engaging the client and other stakeholders at intended durations. RCA adopts proven and tested business development tools and methodologies to support the successful completion of this engagement.
With an extensive network of business advisors, we conduct detailed diagnostic analyses identifying various gaps and challenges facing the MSMEs and co-create performance improvement plans (PIPs) which we guide the MSMEs on implementing. Our extensive track record in managing financing facilities, and our skills in designing beneficiary identification tools ensures objectivity, transparency and identification of high impact beneficiaries.
Ours Business Development Services encompass a basic package of business and entrepreneurship training program as well as mentoring, specific consulting, and advisory services for marketing and technical issues for youth and women with low skills of business entrepreneurship. We provide Business Development Services and Mentorship Support by facilitating networking, mentorship, and market linkages to different project beneficiaries across the Horn and East Africa region. RCA supported small business owners who have used BSOs are likely to enjoy the following benefits:
- Different perspectives about their businesses’ opportunities and challenges
- Objective health check of the entire company including its operating environment
- Business growth ideas including managing and coping with growth
- Ideas on how to improve or set up systems and processes to prepare for growth
- Knowledge transfer through training or coaching
- Business strategy development
- Support in fundraising
- Product and market development ideas
Business development training for youth entrepreneurs is a key prerequisite in linking them to financial service providers. Through the trainings, the young people acquire various skill sets, such as proposal development and techniques for pitching to banks; hence get the ability to access financing opportunities. In this regard, RCA has worked on peer-to-peer learning which is an important cornerstone for growth of some youth enterprises and offered opportunities to learn from other similar youth enterprises. We also created readiness youth and women involved in various projects in the rural for financial services, improving their eligibility for loan financing and boosting the success rate overall for youth entrepreneurs in accessing grant and debt financing. In regards to this, RCA has worked on developing the necessary connections with all possible alternative financing sources, including community development grants from NGOs, public and private sector financing programmes, youth specific financing instruments, local government enterprise funds, and similar options.
RCA provided Business development services for entrepreneurs including guidance on registering their firms, help in understanding and acquiring requisite licenses and permits,
and case studies of low-cost and in-demand starting ideas for their business. Providing youth with the right business development tools can be instrumental in making their business an appealing and viable option, especially in rural areas where they not exposed to business ideas. Our business development services also focus on management capacity building and leadership development courses. If newly developed businesses manage to succeed and eventually scale up, entrepreneurs will need to be equipped with the soft skills necessary to hire, manage and lead teams of other workers.
Similarly, RCA has trained and empowered communities on digital technology in the realm of business development. Digital solutions can address limited access to cash and other issues, including resources, market prospects and the scalability of an operation. Digital solutions include mobile banking, alternative credit scoring. For youth to benefit fully from these solutions, they need relevant digital and financial skills training, therefore matching youth with financial solutions should go hand-in-hand with a general expansion of financial services to unbanked and underbanked populations, along with financial literacy campaigns, better development of financial institutions and, increased competition among financial services providers. RCA was involved in programmes aimed at boosting young entrepreneurs by providing the skills, assets and support they need to thrive, such as access to financial services.