Traditional apprenticeships and enterprise support networks

Abstract

A two-year pilot project among refugees in Somalia was based on the traditional apprenticeship model of training new business people. This article describes how the supervised apprenticeships can provide marketable technical and business management skills and vital support networks for microenterprises at low cost. The enterprise support networks fostered by this approach are a critical factor for successful self-employment. The social networks established during training link prospective entrepreneurs with the labour, capital, customers, suppliers, and counselling needed to sustain their future enterprises.