Micro, small, and medium enterprises—by generating incomes and creating employment opportunities—are vital for the economic and social development of emerging markets. In a rapidly globalizing world, MSMEs urgently require greater investment in human capital to equip their workers for the jobs of the future.
Trainers, capacity builders, and coaches help ensure that the fast-growing populations of emerging markets can acquire high-quality, relevant vital job skills. However, local advisory service markets are fragmented, under-developed, and often of poor quality. Without improvement in the vital area of advisory services, the divide between the developed and developing world will not close.
IFC’s Local Advisory Services program builds human capital in emerging markets and fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS) by creating a network of qualified local advisory service providers which are certified to meet the highest professional standards. At the same time, the program promotes inclusion, supports women entrepreneurs, and significantly increases coordination among development stakeholders operating in this space.
What we Offer
Our Principles for Learning and the Guide to Training
Countries provide billions every year in development assistance for capacity building. Yet the impact is often underwhelming or unmeasurable. Many current training programs are not scalable or cost-effective, and trainers often have limited access to tools and resources to meet the challenge.
To address this need, IFC has partnered with industry leaders to create a set of Principles for Learning and a Guide to Training for skills-development professionals working in emerging markets. The principles represent the foundational qualities that make a performance-improvement project effective and impactful, while the guide puts the principles into action by providing detailed steps and advice for each phase of a performance and learning project. The principles reflect the four key elements of successful training and learning programs; they should be impactful, inclusive, scalable, and sustainable. The guide is grouped into seven phases, which are typical in any training project lifecycle, and includes two supplements: Gender and Fragile and Conflict-affected Situations (FCS).
Advisory & training services, including COVID-19 Business Continuity Webinars
We provide advisory and training services to clients and development partners to improve the impact that their projects deliver and the performance of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). MSMEs are coping with the impact of the economic downturn caused by COVID-19. To help our client financial institutions support their MSME customers during this challenging time, we offer courses in financial risk mitigation, access to finance, and business management.
Capacity-building, including the Facilitating Face-to-Face Learning course
We build the capacity of local advisory service providers to deliver quality training to micro, small, and medium enterprises. Our tools and resources include capacity-building courses, such as the Facilitating Face-to-Face Learning course (Training of Trainer (ToT)), delivered at a distance or onsite in various languages.
Internationally recognized, quality assured certification by IFC
We provide internationally recognized, quality assured certification to expand the pool of trusted, highly skilled local advisory service providers. For the list of IFC-accredited training service providers, please click here.
IFC partners with the Learning and Performance Institute (LPI) to provide the Training and Performance Monitoring and Assessment (TPMA) certification. The IFC-LPI TPMA certification recognizes personal competency in training-delivery skills at internationally accepted standards.
IFC offers Master Level Certification in Facilitating Face-To-Face Learning. A Master Trainer in Facilitating Face-to-Face Learning (MT in FFF) is authorized to offer IFC’s Facilitating Face-To-Face Learning (FFF) course and the internationally recognized IFC-LPI TPMA certification.
Access to quality assured local providers & the Grow-Learn-Connect online platform
Grow Learn Connect is a platform for performance and learning professionals - such as trainers, advisory service providers, instructors, and others - operating in emerging markets. The platform gives access to online training courses and learning resources provided by the World Bank Group and other development actors. Grow Learn Connect includes an online directory to match quality local advisory service providers with companies and organizations seeking training, consulting and coaching services.
Partnerships with local and international stakeholders to maximize results
We leverage IFC's partnerships with local and international stakeholders to build capacity, maximize impact and results, and increase the cost effectiveness of training programs for small businesses.
