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INCEP-SME: Our Work in the Middle East
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In recent years, the SME community has witnessed with satisfaction a growing worldwide awareness of the importance of SMEs to national and regional economies. Today, governments recognize that SMEs are vibrant and innovative engines of growth and of job creation, quick to respond, flexible, and adaptable to changing circumstances. SMEs have become a central force in the economy and society. SMEs are also important for the development and acceleration of change in economies in transition - such as those in which agricultural predominance is giving way to industry and services, or those moving from a centralized to a free market economy. SMEs also serve as important vehicles in facilitating people-to-people conflict resolution through direct interaction between important sectors of society. In this way, they can help create growing mutual trust between ‘enemies.’
In spite of this recognition and the numerous SME support programs available today, we are well aware that small businesses still face many and varied obstacles and constraints. Some of the problems are inherent in the very nature of small business and of start-ups and others are direct outcomes of economic changes, which can affect SMEs in a more crucial manner than they affect big businesses.
INCEP-NISPED has much to contribute to the expansion of SMEs in the Middle East due to not only our knowledge of Arabic, but also because of our deep knowledge of the region.
INCEP-SME conducts education and training programs for the promotion and development of SMEs and entrepreneurship, initiates and manages projects, and offers consulting services.
We conduct workshops, seminars, courses, study tours and projects in conjunction with Palestinian partners who represent NGOs and civil society organizations. In our programs and courses, we share experiences and ideas so as to aid in social and economic development, and to bring Israelis and Palestinians closer together – on the individual and institutional level. We believe that our people-to-people approach to the world of entrepreneurship and economic development is in the best interests of both peoples.
In keeping with our vision, we have undertaken collaborative work with Palestinian and Jordanian organizations. Our work has included a special course for the Jordanian Ministry of Industry, with the support of MASHAV, on the topic of the roles of government in the promotion of small businesses and enterprises.
Over the years, our courses and projects have included:
- The Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
- Comprehensive Training for Development: Linking Vocational and Entrepreneurial Education
- Building Support Systems for SMEs in Palestinian Authority
- Role of SMEs in Developing Rural Areas
- Economic empowerment of women through entrepreneurship
- How to become an entrepreneur and start your own business
Our Joint Palestinian Work
Since 1998, we have worked in cooperation with associations in both the West Bank and Gaza in the field of promoting small businesses and entrepreneurship. Training programs have always been jointly planned and conducted in Israel and in the Palestinian Authority. A few projects in this field were also managed together. Two of these projects created partnerships between Palestinian and Israeli small businesswomen. Unfortunately, the work in Gaza has been interrupted recently due to the situation there, but work in the West Bank continues.
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Working with Shorouq
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From 2004 - 2007 we worked with our Palestinian partner - The Shorouq Society for Women - an NGO dedicated to peace and the advancement of women - on several projects and training programs, both in the field of womens' empowerments and on starting small businesses by women in rural regions in the West Bank. These activities were financed by international donors and by the Israeli government through MASHAV.
One special project was "Promoting Women’s Contribution to Rural Development in Palestine through Starting One’s Own Small Business."
Twenty five women, from young adults to older women, married and single, from rural communities in the West Bank participated in courses, led by NISPED, which took place in the West Bank and in Israel. Our courses linked vocational training with management training so that these women would have the skills to then open up their own small enterprises. Based on a first needs assessment undertaken by Shorouq, NISPED developed training programs for the women that included: learning to be a DJ, hairdressing, photography, cattle raising and growing vegetables in greenhouses.
As of mid 2007, 10 businesses had opened, with 2 - 3 women working in each one. As part of the project, the women received start-up loans. To date, due to the success of the program and the ongoing consultancy that the women have received from NISPED, all but one of the women have managed to repay these loans.
At the closing ceremony of the project in March 2007, one of the participants stated:
"Not only have I managed to pay back the loans that I received from the project, from my father and from the bank to open up my business within one year, but now I am expanding the business and helping to support my family. I couldn't have done this without this joint project.This opportunity has made a big change in my personal life and in my family."
| A second project was entitled: Expanding independence and small businesses to Palestinian rural women
Economic empowerment is a cornerstone of independence, especially important for women, in general, and for Palestinian women, in specific. NISPED, in conjunction with MASHAV - the Center for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CINADCO - The Centre for International Agricultural Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture and with the support of the Polish Humanitarian Organization , undertook a month-long training program in August on goat raising for 17 Palestinian women. The women, ranging in age from 25 – 50, who reside in a rural village in the southern West Bank, participated in a course that focused, besides raising goats, on empowerment and knowledge and skills connected to home business management. This project continues NISPED’s tradition of working together with Palestinian women and organizations to create opportunities for women, based on their needs, culture and aspirations. | | | |
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Economic Empowerment of Palestinian Rural Women
Between 2006 - 2007 we also partnered with the Young Entrepreneurs of Palestine (YEP), DIESIS (Belgium), and LEGACOOP (Italy) on a European Union funded project entitled “Economic Empowerment of Palestinian Rural Women.” This project, in which 82 women completed training, included the following phases: product development (e.g. handicrafts, agricultural and commercial services); training of district coordinators in the West Bank; professional training linked with empowerment, the creation of business plans – such as marketing and management; training and site visits in the West Bank and Israel; a study mission for representatives from YEP and NISPED to Italy; and media coverage of the project. This project officially culminated in a networking conference that brought together Palestinian, Israeli and Italian businesswomen in Jerusalem in November 2007.
Together with YEP we have also undertaken two training programs for young Palestinian entrepreneurs on establishing one's own business. Between 2005 - 2007, the 25 young men and women participants - who were mostly students - also received support for establishing their own businesses. The program was initated by the Japanese government. The Japanese ambassador participated in the closing ceremony in which he talked about the importance of the course for the development of Palestinian society and economy and the promotion of the peace process.
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