Duration:

max. 2 hours

Session Guide:

1. If a prominent person is to perform an official opening for the course, ensure to the extent possible that it is somebody who understands the problems and opportunities for women entrepreneurs, and who can provide an encouraging and inspiring start to the course.

If the official is somebody with any authority in government, banking or other important circles, try to ensure that she/he is briefed as to the likely problems faced by women entrepreneurs, and can make at least some positive statements about efforts that may be taken to overcome these problems, such as allowing women to borrow money in their own right, more equitable laws of inheritance and so on.

It is not necessary that the course should be officially opened, and it is important to avoid spending too much time on this, particularly if the official person is likely to be late or to demand too much time for irrelevant speeches purely for the purposes of gaining publicity.

2. If there is no official opening, or after the official opening if there is one, start by ensuring that the accommodation, travel, funding and other arrangements for participants are all satisfactory; nobody can learn effectively if they are worried about money, their family, their sleeping facilities or food, and it is important that participants from the beginning should feel that these aspects of the programme are being taken care of just as much as the academic learning.

3. Stress that participants are likely to learn more from one another than from the instructors; it is therefore necessary from the outset for everyone to be fully acquainted with one another, and to know what each has to offer. The knowledge that one person has is not diminished if she shares it with others; if all the participants go away with only a small proportion of the joint knowledge and experience that all possess, a great deal will be gained.

4. Divide participants into pairs, including yourself and any other instructor who may be present; ask one member of each pair briefly to give the following information to the other:

· what her business or proposed business is

· whether the business is a part-time or full-time activity (if it is a part-time activity what other job the person holds)

· how long she has been in the business

· what changes (very briefly) she proposes for the coming twelve months

· specifically how she hopes the course will help her to achieve these changes.

5. Ask each participant who has heard this information briefly to summarize it to the class; list the major types of activities being undertaken on board or flipchart, and show the breadth and/or variety.

6. Ask the participants who have just spoken about their colleagues now to give their colleagues the same information about themselves, and ask their colleagues in turn to tell the group; summarize the information on the board as before.

7. Ask each participant very briefly to write down on a piece of paper what she is best at and what she is worst at; allow two or three minutes for this, and then go around the room asking each participant in turn to say what she is best at; list these on the board. Then go round the room asking them to say what they are worst at, and list these on the board as before.

Attempt to "match" the strengths and weaknesses, showing where possible that some participants' weaknesses are matched by others' strengths; summarize the major weaknesses, and relate them to the learning expectations outlined by participants when describing how they thought the course would help them to achieve their objectives. Stress that although the timetable has already been designed, the course actually belongs to the participants and it is up to them to suggest additions, omissions or any other changes which they feel will help them.

8. Distribute copies of the complete timetable, and go through it briefly, session by session, explaining what the objectives are and how the programme links together.

Stress that the workload will be heavy and that participants will be fully engaged during the days of the training course and will have no time for outside activities; invite questions and ensure, if necessary by asking participants direct questions about the programme, that they all understand what is involved and who is responsible for what.

9. If appropriate, invite participants to elect a chairwoman, and possibly other office holders if they think fit, to act as a channel of information between the group and the training institution on academic or administrative matters; ask them to carry out the selection in any way they please and to give the results to the course director the following morning.

The Enterprise Experience: Generating the Business Idea and identifying the People to do it

Objectives:	1. To enable participants to relate the Enterprise Experience to their own learning process
	2. To enable participants to generate business ideas
	3. To enable participants to appraise the respective merits of working alone or in a team
Duration:	90 minutes, followed by a reasonable period for thought and discussion, such as a weekend or a free evening

Session Guide:

1. Before the beginning of the session prepare the following:

· Write the eight steps of the "Enterprise Experience", the dates and the rime by which each should be accomplished on the board or a flipchart. Cover what you have written.

· Prepare a list of goods and services that would be useful to have at the premises where the course is taking place and where the participants stay (e.g. coffee shop, beauty saloon, restaurant, post office, disco, foto service, transport, grocery, better food, soft drinks)

2. Ask participants what they think is the best way of learning. Some at least will come up with the answer "by doing".

Participants may in the past have experienced training games and simulations, where they pretended to be doing things, or played games which in some way simulated aspects of reality. Tell them that they are about to start something with similar objectives but with a different approach: every one of them will during the period of this course start a business, raise capital, produce and sell goods or services, repay any money they have borrowed and retain any remaining profit.

Because many participants will have started their businesses they may doubt the usefulness of such an exercise when they are already "doing it" in real life. Explain that there are three reasons why they should nevertheless go through the "Enterprise Experience":

· Not all of them have been involved in their businesses long enough or intensively enough to completely realize the relation between what they will be taught during this course and their own business.

· The "Enterprise Experience" will step by step be accompanied by sessions about the different aspects of running a business, like book-keeping, marketing, costing, and so on; it is easier to learn these skills by performing them at the same time.

· Learning should also be fun and the "Enterprise Experience" is fun.

3. Participants will probably express doubts and confusion; how can they start a real business in this training situation, where will they raise capital, what will happen if they fail, who will buy their products, what kind of business will it be, and so on.

Stress the following points:

· The participants will have to generate their own ideas for businesses. In previous courses, trainees have organised taxi services, run a laundry, provided photographic processing, typing, baby sitting, consultancy, theatre, and so on.

· Trainees have successfully participated in this experience all over the world, it can be done.

· Participants may conduct their businesses individually or in groups.

· The training institution will offer banking service, providing loans up to K 300 for each enterprise, on the basis of persuasive, well-presented proposals. Interest will be charged at one percent per day.

· Participants will be expected to give the bank some collateral, such as a watch, some books, clothing or other items which could if necessary be sold to repay the loan in the event that they do not repay, for whatever reason.

· Any profits earned will belong to the participants; if they cannot repay their loans, they will have to do so from their own pockets, or to forfeit the security, or it will have to be sold and the proceeds used to repay the loan, with any balance only being given back to the borrower.

· In addition to the profits, which will be theirs to keep, the training institution is offering a prize to the owner(s) of the business which achieves the highest net profit per owner, and a prize for the best kept business books. If suitable, a third prize can be given to the most friendly business or the one with the most unusual business idea, or the one with the best promotion strategy. The winners of such additional prize(s) should be selected by the participants themselves through secret votes.

4. Uncover the board or flipchart with the eight steps of the "Enterprise Experience", read them and ask participants to write them down; make sure that they also note dates and times:

a. Generate an idea and decide whether you will work alone or with others; if the latter, make up your team.

b. Present your idea to the group

c. Study the market, identify suppliers, and so on. Prepare your proposal indicating how the business will proceed, and decide whether you need a loan or not

d. Present proposal to the group, and to the bank if you want a loan

e. Plan and produce the goods or services, and sell them; keeping records as they go

f. Prepare accounts, calculate profit or loss, divide up any profits or losses, repay the bank

g. Present your results to the group and, maybe, win a prize

h. Describe your experience to the group.

5. This evening/weekend participants will have to decide what to do, and whether to do it alone or with others. At the beginning of the next Enterprise Experience session they will have to present their results and hand in a paper which states:

· the name of the proposed enterprise
· the products or services they propose to produce or offer
· who is/are the owner(s).

6. When deciding whether to work alone or with others, participants should consider the following points:

· Personal friendship is not the same as business partnership

· Decision making is easier and quicker when only one person has to make the decisions

· Have you got all the skills you need? Who else does have them?

· Could you work well with her?

· How will you divide the wages and profit/losses if you are working with others?

· If you want to invest your own money, have you enough? If not, could you persuade your proposed partner(s) to share the risks?

· Who will be the boss?

7. Draw a big square divided into 16 smaller squares on the board. Ask participants to say how many squares they see (ask those who know the exercise, to be quiet). Answers may be one, sixteen, twenty or more. There are at least 30 squares!

Ask participants to suggest why some, probably the majority saw only sixteen squares and why others saw more. Most of us are so used to see only the obvious, we limit ourselves. But entrepreneurs have to be creative, have to be able to "look beyond the horizon" if they want to be successful.

8. Ask participants to list all goods and services they would like to be able to obtain on the premises of the training institution and/or their hotel/students residence/guesthouse. List all suggestions on the board, add your own ideas if necessary. Initiate a discussion about the possibilities of making or providing the listed goods and services. This discussion may help them to generate ideas for their own Enterprise Experience businesses.

9. Remind participants at the end of the session that they must have their business and personnel decisions ready for the next Enterprise Experience session.

HANDOUT 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE ENTERPRISE EXPERIENCE

The best way of learning something is TO DO IT. During the first weeks of this course you are therefore asked to start a little business, raise finance, produce and sell goods or services, repay any money you have borrowed and retain any remaining profit.

The Enterprise Experience will be accompanied step by step by sessions about the different aspects of running a business: How to find out about your potential market, how to promote your business, how to prepare a cash flow forecast, how and which business records to keep, how to prepare a business plan and the like.

The Enterprise Experience comprises the following eight steps:

1. Generate a business idea and decide whether you will work alone or with others; if the latter, make up your team.

2. Present the idea to the group, and get feed-back from your fellow participants about its feasibility.

3. Study the market, identify suppliers; prepare your proposal indicating how the business will proceed; decide whether you need a loan or not.

4. Present the proposal to the group, and to the bank, if you want a loan.

5. Plan and produce the goods or services, and sell them, keeping records as you go.

6. Prepare accounts, calculate profit or loss, repay the bank.

7. Present the results to the group and, maybe, win a prize.

8. Describe your experience to the group.

HANDOUT 2: RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS ALONE OR WITH OTHERS?

When deciding whether to work alone or with others, consider the following points:

· Personal friendship is not the same as business partnership

· Decision making is easier and quicker when only one person is involved

· Have you got all the skills you need? Who else has them? Could you work well with that person(s)?

· How will you divide wages and profit or losses if you are working with others?

· Who will be the boss?

· If you want to invest your own money: do you have enough? If not, could you persuade your proposed partner(s) to share the risks?

HANDOUT 3: "LOOK BEYOND THE HORIZON"

How many squares do you see here? If you count square by square printed here, you will find that there are sixteen (although some participants said that there is only one square!) But if you look carefully, there is much more to find: there are at least 30 squares! For example, the four squares in the upper left corner make one square; or the four squares in the centre; or the nine squares in the lower right corner, and so on.

If you want to be successful in business, you need to be creative, to have better ideas in order to produce new goods or services or to improve your products or services. You will have to "look beyond the horizon".

Women And Business

Objectives:	1. To identify problems women encounter or may encounter when starting a business
	2. To produce a list of recommendations from women already in business for women going into business on how to deal with the problems that have to be faced especially by women
	3. To discourage women from expecting to be treated differently than men in business life
Duration:	60 to 90 minutes

Session Guide:

1. Explain to participants the objectives of this session. Tell them that you are aware that none of them may care about the differences between women and men in business. Special training programmes for female entrepreneurs already in business or going into business are carried out all over the world and there is much discussion whether separate training for women and men is useful or not. Whatever their individual standpoint is regarding training, businesswomen certainly have to deal with some different problems than business-men. Among the participants there may be some who have dealt successfully with such problems for which others have not yet found a solution.

2. Ask participants to write down any problem or difficulty they had or still have going into business. This may cover family life, financial situation, access to training and other areas. Allow five minutes for this task; participants should only write down some key words.

3. Ask each participant for her problems and list them on the board grouping them into the different areas (family, finance, training, and so on)

4. Discuss the listed problem areas: Are they really special female problems? Most, probably many of them are not. At the end of this discussion the list should be reduced to those problems only women will have to face.

Problem areas may include the following:

· who takes care of children, old parents, young brothers/sisters

· maternity (long absence from the business)

· husband is against business

· husband takes money out of cashbox or from bank account without even asking

· husband expects housework not to be neglected but does not help

· women have to stay where the husband works and go with him when he leaves the place

· parents, brothers disagree

· banks or moneylenders refuse to give credit at all, or without the agreement of a male person (father, husband)

· legal status makes it impossible for wives to sign any contract without their husband's agreement

· the social status of women makes it difficult to be accepted as a partner by business-MEN

· women feel guilty, especially about having too little time for their children.

5. Ask those participants whose problems are still "on" to tell how they dealt with them or will deal with them or think they should. Ask others for their opinion. List these recommendations on the board.

The list may include the following suggestions:

· to develop self-confidence

· to initiate a day-care place for children

· to set up an association for business-women of the area to exchange experiences and to have a pressure group for necessary change; or to join an existing association

· to persuade husbands to cooperate in the daily housework

· to develop self-discipline

· to give "quality time" to the children instead of "quantity time"

· to develop and hold good relationships with employees so that they will be loyal in case of maternity, sickness and so on.

Tell participants that this list of recommendations will be used in future courses and will certainly encourage and help other women.

HANDOUT 1: PROBLEMS OF FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS IN THE SMALL-SCALE SECTOR

In addition to the many difficulties small entrepreneurs in general have to face women may be confronted with one or several of the following problems:

· Access to loans (discriminating laws or bank regulations; all property belongs to husband; bankers mistrust women's capabilities)

· Premises (women have to stay where the husband works and go with him when he leaves the place)

· Succession (in some traditional societies the family of the husband will take everything and expell the wife and her children if the husband dies)

· Time management (in addition to running a business most household and family duties have to be done by the woman)

· Sickness of family members (this is one of the most critical of the above mentioned problems of time management)

· Maternity (which means a relatively long absence from the business)

· Feeling guilty (especially about having little time for the children)

· Prejudice from men

· Improper requests from men (when trying to get a licence for example, women have been asked for "special services")

Recommendations

· Develop self-confidence

· Form pressure groups (women entrepreneurs associations and the like)

· Acquire your own premises (make sure they are registered in your name)

· Be cunning

· Persuade your husband to take care of the family as much as you do

· Develop self-discipline

· Give "quality time" to your children

· If you have employees: be the team leader more than the authoritarian boss; communicate with them.

The Enterprise Experience: Report Back

Objective:	As in the Enterprise Experience / Generating the business idea and indentifying the people to do it
Duration:	1 hour

Session Guide:

1. Ask a representative of each proposed enterprise briefly to tell the group the enterprise name, owner(s) and products or services to be offered. Ask each enterprise to hand in the paper with these details. Ensure that there is no impractical double use of resources (but competition is to be encouraged, two discos, two soft drink stands or two hair dressing businesses are fine), any partnerships are real, in the sense that all members have agreed and there are no obvious passengers all participants understand that it is for real; in spite of earlier reminders, some may still believe that it is hypothetical.

2. "Process" the first pan of the experience, by generating discussion related to the idea generation process:

· How did participants generate their ideas?

· Was it inspiration or just hard methodical work?

· Did they "network" by asking others for ideas, or did they rely on their own ideas?

· How could they have improved their use of other people?

· Are their ideas innovative or obvious?

· Are they proposing to do ordinary things, but in a better way, by making them cheaper, more convenient in time or place?

· Are obvious ideas often not better than innovative ones?

· Did they "scan the environment" methodically, to find opportunities?

· Could they apply this in their daily lives, in their own real businesses (by not complaining but by DOING something to help themselves and others, and make money?)

3. Ask questions such as the following to "process" the individual/team decision, and the team selection when that route was chosen:

· Were they able to appraise their own strengths and weaknesses, in order to find out if they needed a partner?

· To those who are going to have individual businesses:

Why is it that they prefer to work alone? Have they ever thought about a business partnership, in the "Enterprise Experience" or in their own real businesses? If not: why not? If yes: which were the obstacles, what made them change their decision?

· To those who have decided to form a partnership: Who were the initiators, how did the followers feel about their invitation?

· (If relevant:) Why did they decide for a partnership in the "Enterprise Experience" but not in their real businesses?

· Do any participants want to change their ideas, and/or partners, after hearing about their colleagues' ideas? If yes: Why? Most businesses are competing for limited purchasing power and time, even if they do not offer the same products/services. If not: Do participants feel confident that their ideas will succeed, in spite of the competition they have now heard about? If so, why? If not, why not? What can they do to improve their chances?

This session should be followed, after a short break, by the Enterprise Experience Proposal Preparation.

The Enterprise Experience: Proposal Preparation

Objectives:	1. To enable participants to identify the usefulness of, and the need for a business plan
	2. To enable participants to prepare a very simple business plan.
Duration:	1 hour

Session Guide:

1. Refer back to the flipchart shown in the first Enterprise Experience session where the different steps of the Enterprise Experience are written down. Warn participants that during the next Enterprise Experience session they will have to present their business proposal or plan. For those who want to apply for a loan: the Bank will be open and the "banker(s)" will attend the session. They are willing to provide loans up to K 300 at an interest rate of one percent per day if the applicant(s) present(s) a convincing business plan and a reasonable security.

2. Ask participants to name reasons for preparing a business plan, besides the above mentioned reason of applying for a loan. Elicit the following suggestions:

· you might want someone else to put money into your business; you should therefore be able to answer questions about your business

· a business plan can serve as a guideline for your business operations;

· it forces you to think through, and plan properly what you intend to do

· it will give you more confidence in your ability to run your business successfully

· it forces you to investigate your potential market, and your possible suppliers

· it provides you with more information to decide how best to operate your business;

· once you have a plan you have set yourself a long-term and several short-term goals.

3. Ask participants to suggest what information they will need to put together a plan for their business; elicit suggestions such as:

· availability of a market for their products
· how to market the products
· sources and costs of material and equipment
· availability of premises
· existence of competition, and their strengths and weaknesses
· need for and how to obtain permission to operate, to sell and so on
· times and places when customers will be in a position to buy

4. Ask participants to suggest what should be included in a simple business plan, in order to have a document which is useful for themselves, and also to persuade the bank to lend money.

Elicit the following:

· a statement of what product or service the business is to provide

· a statement of who the customers are, and why they will buy this product/service

· a statement of the objectives of the business

· a summary of the materials and equipment needed, and their sources and prices

· a brief description of the person(s) involved, and why she/they are likely to succeed in this business

· a calculation of the expected financial results of the business

· a calculation of the finance needed, a statement of where it is proposed to raise it, and a

· demonstration that it can be repaid on schedule.

Write the suggestions on the board: These are the guidelines for the preparation of a simple business plan.

5. Distribute the handout "Guidelines for the Presentation of Your Business Proposals". These guidelines are very similar to the ones developed by them during this session. Tell participants that they will have to prepare a very simple business plan for their proposed Enterprise Experience businesses according to these guidelines. Each business will have to hand in the plan the day before the next Enterprise Experience session, and will have to present it during the next Enterprise Experience session.

Tell participants that this is only a first step in making them familiar with the preparation of a business plan. The difficulties they may have in preparing this first simple plan will enable them to understand further sessions about business plan preparation, and to ask detailed questions.

HANDOUT 1: GUIDELINES FOR THE PRESENTATION OF YOUR ENTERPRISE EXPERIENCE BUSINESS PROPOSAL

Your proposal presentation should contain the following information:

· name of the business

· name of the owner/s

· a statement of what product or service the business is to provide

· a statement of who the customers are, and why they will buy this product/service

· a statement of the objectives of the business

· a summary of the materials and equipment needed, and their sources and prices

· a brief description of the person(s) involved, and why she/they are likely to succeed in this business

· a calculation of the expected financial results of the business

· a calculation of the finance needed, a statement of where it is proposed to raise it, and a demonstration that it can be repaid on schedule.

Entrepreneurial Characteristics

Objective:	To enable participants to identify the personal qualities that are at least as important to run a business successfully as business or technical skills are.
Duration:	90 to 120 minutes

Session Guide:

1. Ask participants to suggest why they have come to this course; what have they come to learn?

Elicit suggestions such as: "record keeping skills", "learn how to market my products", "learn how to apply for a loan", and so on.

Ask participants whether business success can be guaranteed so long as the business woman has all these types of skills. Is there some other ability that is required?

Ask participants whether education, which is largely concerned with acquiring skills, is essential for success in running a business; are people with Ph. B. degrees or masters degrees usually the ones who make the most money by running their own businesses?

Participants should appreciate that higher education is not a guarantee of business success, and highly educated people do not usually go into business for themselves, either because they do not have to or because they do not want to; they become university professors, managers of large departments or possibly Ministers, which are probably less important occupations for economic development than people who create wealth and employment by running their own businesses.

2. Ask for examples of very successful people, even millionaires, who are illiterate; there are many such people and they can obviously not keep records or write loan applications. What have they got, that many very well trained or educated people apparently have not got, that enables them to be so successful?

3. Clearly there are other qualities that are at least as important, and possibly more important, than business or technical skills. The objective of this session is to identify these qualities; during the rest of the course participants will be focussing attention on them, so that they can enhance their own abilities as well as learning the skills which are required.

Some people say that these qualities can be developed, or at least improved, by training, while others say that people are born with them, or that they are acquired during childhood; it is certainly true, however, that one can gain by finding out whether or not one has these characteristics, so that one can try to develop those one does not have, or at least recognize one's own strengths and weaknesses.

4. Ask participants individually to think of one particular very successful business owner whom they know personally, and then to write down ONE adjective that best describes the sort of person she or he is. Allow up to five minutes for this, and then ask for suggestions and list them on the board; do not write down different words that mean more or less the same thing, but put "ticks" beside the word that is already written to show how many participants suggested it.

5. Divide the group into pairs; ask them to find out each other's age and then tell the younger member of each pair briefly to describe what she actually did on some occasions when she achieved something important to her in her business; the older should listen carefully, and then write down ONE adjective or phrase that best describe the way she behaved; then the older member of each pair should similarly describe something she did in her business, and the younger should write down whatever adjective or phrase she thinks best describes it. Ask participants to read out what they have written; add the words or phrases to the list already on the board, again avoiding duplication but showing how many times each word or general concept is suggested.

6. Discuss the resulting list; eliminate words that appear not to relate to business behaviour as such, and stress that entrepreneurs are not necessarily pleasant people, or honest people, or people who are very good at working in large organisations; avoid the impression that an entrepreneur is a perfect woman; she is a particular type of person, who is good at starring and running her own business, but may be quite bad at many other things which are equally necessary for society.

7. Write up or display a previously prepared list of the seventeen common types of entrepreneurial behaviour, as listed in the check list for the entrepreneurial role model session which follows, and encourage discussion as to whether this list is or is not basically similar to the one the class itself has developed, by describing each other's behaviour and that of entrepreneurs they know.

If the list developed in the session includes characteristics which are significantly different from those in the list of seventeen, and all participants are agreed that they are important, amend the list for the subsequent sessions; if there are some of the seventeen which participants themselves have not come up with earlier in the session, discuss whether they are relevant or not; if the group feel strongly that these characteristics are not relevant, in their situation, exclude them since participants must feel that the list they use in subsequent sessions is theirs.

8. If time allows, distribute a copy of the amended list and ask participants to rate themselves, honestly, as to whether or not they behave in that way; alternatively, warn them that they will have to rate themselves for the forthcoming counselling periods.

If possible, this session should be followed immediately by a session with an entrepreneurial role model, as described in the following session guide.

HANDOUT 1: ENTREPRENEURIAL CHARACTERISTICS

There are certain personal qualities that are at least as important and possibly more important than business or technical skills. Research indicates that a successful entrepreneur behaves in the following way:

· she is persistent
· she grasps an opportunity
· she makes a problem into an opportunity
· she takes a moderate and informed risk
· she makes an effort to obtain information
· she tries to make something more efficient
· she strives to improve quality
· she persuades others to do what she wants
· she uses networks to influence someone
· she tries her best to keep a promise
· she sets goals for herself
· she plans ahead, and monitors the results
· she rebounds from a failure
· she invests for tomorrow rather than spending today
· she is un-concerned about what others think of her
· she is enthusiastic
· she is self-confident

Some people say these qualities can be developed, or at least improved, by training, while others say that people are born with them, or that they are acquired during early childhood; it is certainly true, however, that you can gain by finding out whether or not you have these characteristics, so that you can try to develop those you do not have, or at least recognise your own strengths and weaknesses.

Entrepreneurial Role Model

Objectives:	1. To enable participants to meet and objectively appraise a woman who has succeeded in business
	2. To enable participants to identify entrepreneurial characteristics.
Duration:	approx. 2 hours

Session Guide:

1. This session is not intended to show participants what they ought to be, but to give them an opportunity to meet and objectively to appraise a woman who has succeeded in business, and in particular to compare this women with the entrepreneurial characteristics previously identified.

The business woman need not be dramatically successful although she should be at least as substantial a business person as the most successful of the participants. What is most important is that she should be articulate and willing to talk honestly and openly about her experiences, without idealising herself and saying what she thinks people think about her, as opposed to describing what she actually did.

2. Discuss the session well in advance with the guest, and tell her that she will neither be expected nor wanted to give a polished presentation of any kind. All you want is for her to talk freely about certain incidents in her business career, so that the participants can learn from what she has done.

3. Before the session, make sure that every participant has a copy of the entrepreneurial check list; explain that you will be asking the guest to describe certain experiences she has had, and participants will be expected to put a tick against the appropriate characteristic whenever they consider that the guest's description of her behaviour shows that she displayed that characteristic.

4. After introducing the guest, who may of course be already known to some of the participants, ask her to tell the group about an occasion when she solved a particularly difficult problem; ensure that she focuses on what she DID, rather than on what she thought about or thought that other people thought of her.

It may not be necessary to interrupt at all, other than to bring the story to a close; it may on the other hand, be necessary to steer the story on the right track, and to help the guest to recall what actually happened.

5. Depending on how long this story takes to tell, you may then ask her to describe other occasions, such as:

· when she felt she failed to do something she wanted to do
· when she felt particularly pleased with what she had done
· a particularly important milestone in her business
· when she took a risky decision
· when she had to get help from others.

The nature of the occasion is less important than the fact that the guest can talk about it clearly and openly; ensure throughout that the participants are remembering to mark their check lists, as well as paying attention to the speaker.

6. A more structured approach is to ask the guest to describe her business career from the beginning, going into particular detail when the situation was particularly difficult, and stopping at major decision points; at these points, ask participants to say what they would have done, and then ask the guest to comment on their suggestions, and to compare them with what she actually did.

This must not be allowed to distract the participants from their task of marking the guest for her display of the entrepreneurial characteristics.

7. About thirty minutes before the end of the session, draw the guest's stories to an end, and invite participants to ask questions, relating to what the guest has been saying, or to their own business problems and opportunities.

8. After the guest has left, possibly the next day, "process" the session by asking participants to say how many times they have checked each characteristic, and to recall what particular event seemed to illustrate the characteristics.

If one or more of the characteristics appears not to have been exemplified, discuss possible reasons why this may be so; does this represent a weakness in the guest's entrepreneurship, has she displayed it in other ways, or is its absence compensated by other particularly strong characteristics?

Ask participants to compare their own behaviour in similar situations; would they have behaved differently or in the same way? Would the result have been more or less successful?

HANDOUT 1: ENTREPRENEURIAL CHECK LIST

Put a tick against the appropriate characteristic whenever you consider that the guest's description of her behaviour shows that she displayed that characteristic.

She is persistent	-- -- -- -- --
She grasps an opportunity	-- -- -- -- --
She makes a problem into an opportunity	-- -- -- -- --
She takes a moderate and informed risk	-- -- -- -- --
She makes an effort to obtain information	-- -- -- -- --
She tries to make something more efficient	-- -- -- -- --
She strives to improve quality	-- -- -- -- --
She persuades someone to do what she wants	-- -- -- -- --
She uses networks to influence someone	-- -- -- -- --
She tries her best to keep a promise	-- -- -- -- --
She sets a goal for herself	-- -- -- -- --
She plans ahead, and monitors the results	-- -- -- -- --
She rebounds from a failure	-- -- -- -- --
She invests for tomorrow rather than spending today	-- -- -- -- --
She is un-concerned about what others think of her	-- -- -- -- --
She is enthusiastic	-- -- -- -- --
She is self-confident	-- -- -- -- --

(introduction...)

Figure

Introduction to Technology Choice

The course is a general introduction to the opportunities and potential constraints of small scale food processing in developing countries.

The course is held over five days, assuming approximately 30 hours contact time in total.

Equipment/Facilities required

Foods:	Dry foods (nuts, spices, breakfast cereal, flour, dried milk, tea, coffee, etc.), wet acidic foods (fresh fruit, jam, juice, yoghurt, pickles, etc.), wet low acid foods fresh fish/meat & vegetables, canned/bottled vegetables/meat/fish, pasteurised milk, etc.).
	Spoiled foods (purchased one week before the course), fresh meat/fish, fruit, vegetables, bread.
Equipment:	Flip Chart and Pens
	Overhead Projector (OHP)
	5 pairs of scissors
Other Materials:	4 prepared overhead projection acetates
	3 handouts

Characteristics of Food

Objectives:	To enable participants to describe differences between the major food groups.
Duration:	3 - 4 hours.

Session Guide:

1. Classification of food (2 hours approx.)

Foods can be grouped into categories in different ways depending on their characteristics. Ask participants to describe the characteristics of food and then suggest ways in which foods can be grouped. Elicit the following types of classification and explain why the classification is important (e.g. these differences between foods are important because they result in different types of spoilage and hence determine some of the preservative actions required of food processing).

Classification based on properties of the food:

· Dry Foods:

(nuts, cereals/flour, powdered foods, spices, oils and frozen foods)

· Wet Acidic Foods:

(fruit, fruit products, yoghurt, pickles, etc.)

· Wet Low Acid Foods:

(meat, fish, milk, dough, vegetables, etc.)

Write the three types on a flipchart.

Show participants examples of processed foods and ask them to classify the foods into these categories.

Discuss their classification to make sure all appreciate the differences. OHP (1) may be used.

Foods can also be classified into:

· High Value/Low Volume Foods
· Lower Value (usually staples)/High Volume Foods.

This classification helps determine the scale of operation and hence equipment requirements and costs.

Add these to the flipchart and fix it to a wall.

Ask participants to list foods in each category from their own areas.

Discuss the results and bring out any differences (e.g. tomatoes in one area may be high value/low volume and the opposite in another area depending on the amount grown and the demand).

2. Quality Characteristics (2 hours approx.)

Note the different quality criteria that can be applied to foods. For example in a buzz group, ask participants what is meant by food quality, elicit the following categories from the participants and write on a flipchart:

· Sensory Quality:

Colour, flavour, texture, size, shape, appearance, freedom from defects.

· Nutritional Quality:

Vitamins, minerals, protein, energy as carbohydrate or fat, fibre content. Anti-nutritional quality (pesticide residues, toxins such as heavy metals, naturally occurring antinutritional factors such as cyanide complexes in cassava, enzyme inibitors in some vegetables etc.).

· Quality Expressed as Financial Value:

This depends in part on each of the above factors, but more importantly on the demand for a food versus the available supply.

· Microbiological Quality:

If necessary explain the differences between bacteria, yeasts and moulds, the difference between safe and pathogenic micro-organisms, microbial toxins.

Explain why quality characteristics are important (e.g. for setting up quality control procedures, for marketing, for deciding correct production methods).

SUMMARY HANDOUT: CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS

This session has enabled you to describe differences between the major food groups.

Foods were grouped into categories in different ways depending on their characteristics. Differences between foods are important because they result in different types of spoilage and hence determine some of the preservative actions required of food processing.

A classification based on the properties of foods is as follows:

· Dry Foods:

(nuts, cereals/flour, powdered foods, spices, etc. also oils and frozen foods);

· Wet Acidic Foods:

(fruit, fruit products, yoghurt, pickles, etc.);

· Wet Low Acid Foods:

(meat, fish, milk, dough, vegetables, etc.).

Foods can also be classified into:

· High Value/Low Volume Foods;
· Lower Value (usually staple)/high Volume Foods.

This classification helps determine the scale of operation and hence equipment requirements and costs.

QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF FOODS

· Sensory Quality:

(colour, flavour, texture, size, shape, appearance, freedom from defects).

· Nutritional Quality:

Vitamins, minerals, protein, energy as carbohydrate or fat, fibre content. Anti-nutritional quality (pesticide residues, toxins such as heavy metals, naturally occurring anti-nutritional factors such as cyanide complexes in cassava, enzyme inibitors in some vegetables, etc.).

· Quality Expressed as Financial Value:

This depends in pan on each of the above factors, but more importantly on the demand for a food versus the available supply.

· Microbiological Quality:

Bacteria, yeasts and moulds, the difference between safe and pathogenic microorganisms, microbial toxins.

OHP 1: EXAMPLES OF FOODS CLASSIFIED BY ACIDITY AND MOISTURE CONTENT

DRY FOODS	WET FOODS
	Acidic	Low acid
nuts	fruits	vegetables
cereals	juices	meats
flours	jams	fish
biscuits	yoghurt	milk
snackfoods	pickles	eggs
sugar	sauces
confectionary	vinegar
oils	wine
	beer
	spirits
	soft drinks

Spoilage and Preservation

Objectives:	To enable participants to describe different types of food spoilage, the preservative actions of different methods of food processing and the effects of processing on food quality.
Duration:	6 - 8 hours

1. Spoilage (4 hours approx.)

Different types of micro-organisms spoil specific types of food. Show participants foods that have been spoiled by:

· Bacterial soft rot (for example vegetables);
· Bacterial putrefaction (for example, meat/fish/milk);
· Mould growth (for example bread, nuts);
· Yeast growth or fermentation (for example fruit or fruit products).

Ask participants in groups to use the information in the previous session to explain the differences in spoilage and draw conclusions on why particular types of micro-organisms spoil particular types of food.

Summarise the findings on a flipchart to include:

· Bacterial soft rots = (foods with low protein content) low acid wet foods;
· Bacterial putrefaction = (protein-rich foods) low acid wet foods;
· Mould growth = low and moderate acid, wet and dry foods;
· Yeast growth = acidic, wet foods.

Show OHP 2

Other types of spoilage are slower than those caused by micro-organisms but are important over longer storage periods. For example:

· Enzymic changes to flavour, colour, texture of foods (if necessary explain the nature and action of enzymes);

· Oxidation of fats, pigments and fat soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, K);

· Loss of moisture leading to drying out or shrivelling of the food;

· Moisture pickup leading to softening;

Ask participants (e.g. in a buzz group) to identify foods which suffer each type of spoilage. List on a flipchart.

2. Preservation (4 hours approx.)

Ask participants in groups to list ways in which foods are preserved in their own areas. Write the list on flip chart and add any that are missed out to get the following list:

boiling	blanching	pasteurisation
canning	drying	smoking
freezing	chilling	concentration
irradiation	salting	syruping
fermentation	chemical preservation (e.g. sulphur dioxide, sodium benzoate, citric or acetic acid)

Fix the flipchart to a wall and leave for the session on Small Scale Processes for Income Generation. Redraw the list to group the processes into the following five preservation methods:

· Heat
· Low temperatures
· Low water (moisture) content
· Chemical preservatives
· Combined procedures

Note that there are other unit operations (explain the term if necessary) that may have little preservative effect but are designed to change the quality of foods and hence make it more attractive and valuable (e.g. coating in batter, chocolate, breadcrumbs, cutting it into different shapes and sizes, sorting, cleaning, frying, etc.).

Add these to the flipchart to obtain three columns of processes: 1) those in which the main purpose is preservation, 2) those that are intended to change eating quality and 3) those that may achieve both.

Emphasise that these are the fundamental bases for all food preservation but that various methods can be combined in different ways to produce many different types of food.

Show examples of two sequences of unit operations that are combined to form different processes and hence produce different products OHP 3.

Emphasise that many processed foods need packaging to maintain their quality. The packaging needs of food are complex.

Ask the participants (e.g. in a buzz group) what functions they can suggest for packaging and using their answers draw up the following list on a flipchart:

For protection against

· Moisture loss or uptake
· Carbon dioxide loss
· Oxygen uptake
· Dirt, dust and other soils
· Crushing, puncturing, etc.
· Heat
· Light
· Micro-organisms
· Insects, birds, rodents
· Odour loss or uptake
· Oil resistance

Packaging is also very important for marketing foods. The use of attractive materials, designs and labels is essential in most urban markets. This is likely to be the major constraint on small scale producers. The package must also contain information about the product in most countries and conform to national legislation (e.g. declared weight of food, claims made about the food on the label).

Ask participants what should be included on a label and ask them to prepare a label for banana chips. Ask them to display the labels on a wall and compare their results with a sample label (Handout 1). Emphasise the main information required on the label.

Complete the session by summarising the days work and clarifying/expanding details as necessary in response to questions.

SUMMARY HANDOUT

This session has enabled you to describe different types of food spoilage, the preservative actions of different methods of food processing and the effects of processing on food quality.

· Bacterial soft rots = (foods with low protein content) low acid wet foods
· Bacterial putrefaction = (protein-rich foods) low acid wet foods
· Mould growth = low and moderate acid, wet and dry foods
· Yeast growth = acid, wet foods

Other types of spoilage are slower than those caused by micro-organisms but are important over longer storage periods. For example:

· Enzymic changes to flavour, colour, texture of foods;
· Oxidation of fats, pigments and fat soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, K);
· Loss of moisture leading to drying out or shrivelling of the food;
· Moisture pickup leading to softening.

Ways in which foods are preserved are as follows:

boiling	blanching	pasteurisation
canning	drying	smoking
freezing	chilling	concentration
irradiation	salting	syruping
fermentation
chemical preservation (e.g. sulphur dioxide, sodium benzoate, citric or acetic acid).

The list of processes can be grouped into the following five preservation methods:

· Heat
· Low temperatures
· Low water (moisture) content
· Chemical preservatives
· Combined procedures

Note that there are other unit operations that may have little preservative effect but are designed to change the quality of foods and hence make it more attractive and valuable (e.g. coating in batter, chocolate, breadcrumbs, cutting it into different shapes and sizes, sorting, cleaning, frying, etc.).

Various methods can be combined in different ways to produce many different types of food.

Many processed foods need packaging to maintain their quality. The packaging needs of food are complex.

The functions of packaging are protection against:

· Moisture loss or uptake
· Carbon dioxide loss
· Oxygen uptake
· Dirt, dust and other soils
· Crushing, puncturing, etc.
· Heat
· Light
· Micro-organisms
· Insects, birds, rodents
· Odour loss or uptake
· Oil resistance

Packaging is also very important for marketing foods. The use of attractive materials, designs and labels is essential in most urban markets. This is likely to be the major constraint on small scale producers. The package must also contain information about the product in most countries and conform to national legislation (e.g. declared weight of food, claims made about the food on the label).

A sample label (Handout 1) shows the main information required on the label.

HANDOUT 1: A TYPICAL LABEL-INFORMATION NEEDED

Figure

OHP 2: MICROBIAL SPOILAGE OF FOODS

	Dry Foods	Wet Foods
		Acidic	Low Acid
Type of micro-organisms	moulds	yeasts	bacteria
	(but none if properly dried)	moulds	moulds

OHP 3: LINKING UNIT OPERATIONS

Figure

Hygiene

Objectives:	To enable participants to describe basic hygiene rules in food processing.
Duration:	3 - 4 hours

Session Guide:

This session is used to reinforce hygiene rules that should be already known to participants. If you feel that these rules are not familiar, after an initial question and answer session, expand the session as appropriate.

The aim is to emphasise that bacteria (including pathogens) are carried by people on hands, in the throat/mouth, on clothes/utensils etc. Strict hygiene is essential in all food processing, but especially when handling low acid foods and foods that have already been cooked (recontamination and subsequent growth before consumption could lead to food poisoning).

Ask participants to describe in groups the basic rules for safe food handling. Draw up the following list on a flipchart and explain each as necessary.

· No smoking (bacteria from mouth transferred to food via hands).

· No eating, drinking in processing room (same reason).

· Easy to clean floors, walls, ceiling and equipment (to prevent buildup of soils which harbour bacteria, moulds and attract insects and rodents).

· Suitable working clothes for operators, cleaned regularly. Operators should not have any contagious diseases.

· Toilet facilities available and washing facilities for use afterwards.

· Disposal of rubbish away from the processing room.

· Use of clean water, purified if necessary to wash raw materials and equipment.

· Netting to stop insects, birds rats etc. from entering the room.

· No mixing of raw foods and processed foods (cross contamination).

· Correct food storage and stock rotation.

Ask participants to create a poster to illustrate each rule and display them on the wall. Inspect the catering facility at the training site on an instructional visit. Use Handout 2 to assess the above factors.

SUMMARY HANDOUT

This session has enabled you to describe basic hygiene rules in food processing.

Bacteria (including pathogens) are carried by people on hands, in the throat/mouth, on clothes/ utensils etc. Strict hygiene is essential in all food processing, but especially when handling low acid foods and foods that have already been cooked (because recontamination and subsequent growth before consumption could lead to food poisoning).

Rules for Safe Handling

1. No smoking (bacteria from mouth transferred to food via hands).

2. No eating, drinking in processing room (same reason).

3. Easy to clean floors, walls, ceiling and equipment (to prevent buildup of soils which harbour bacteria, moulds and attract insects and rodents).

4. Suitable working clothes for operators, cleaned regularly. Operators should not have any contagious diseases.

5. Toilet facilities available and washing facilities for use afterwards.

6. Disposal of rubbish away from the processing room.

7. Use of clean water, purified if necessary to wash raw materials and equipment.

8. Netting to stop insects, birds rats etc. from entering the room.

9. No mixing of raw foods and processed foods (cross contamination).

10. Correct food storage and stock rotation.

HANDOUT 2: INSTRUCTIONAL VISIT - HYGIENE IN FOOD PROCESSING

During the visit to the food processing site, examine the facilities for the following aspects and circle the score on the right that most closely matches what you see.

HYGIENE ASPECT	SCORE
	VERY POOR		AVERAGE	VERY GOOD
1. No smoking sign	1	2	3	4	5
2. No eating, drinking	1	2	3	4	5
3. Easy to clean floors, walls, ceiling and equipment	1	2	3	4	5
4. Suitable clean working clothes	1	2	3	4	5
5. Toilet facilities available	1	2	3	4	5
6. Proper disposal of rubbish	1	2	3	4	5
7. Clean water available	1	2	3	4	5
8. Netting to stop insects, birds, etc.	1	2	3	4	5
9. No mixing of raw and processed foods	1	2	3	4	5
10. Correct storage and stock rotation	1	2	3	4	5

Facilities and Equipment Design

Objectives:	To enable participants to describe the basic rules for hygienic design of food processing rooms and equipment.
Duration:	3 - 4 hours

Describe the basic facilities needed in a food processing room and the need for correctly designed equipment. Show examples of good/bad equipment design, e.g. corners of pans, pipe fittings, legs of equipment (OHP 4), recesses in equipment.

Note also the best materials of construction, which are steel, stainless steel, enamelled iron, galvanised iron, plastic, ceramic, aluminium.

Emphasise that lead pipes, pewter and solder should be avoided (lead poisoning), wood is difficult to clean and iron, copper/brass/bronze react with acidic foods and oils to produce off-flavours.

Equipment should be laid out to provide a flow of materials around the processing room with a minimum amount of cross over.

Give Handout 3 and ask participants to cut out the equipment shapes and lay them on the room plan to form the best design. Ask them to discuss their plans in groups. Draw out an agreed plan on the flipchart. A suggested optimum design is shown in Handout 3B.

SUMMARY HANDOUT

This session has enabled you to describe the basic rules for hygienic design of food processing rooms and equipment.

The basic facilities needed in a food processing room and the need for correctly designed equipment were described and examples of good/bad equipment design (e.g. comers of pans, pipe fittings, legs of equipment), were shown.

The best materials of construction are steel, stainless steel, enamelled iron, galvanised iron, plastic, ceramic, aluminium.

Lead pipes, pewter and solder should be avoided (lead poisoning), wood is difficult to clean and iron, copper/brass/bronze react with acidic foods and oils to produce off-flavours.

Equipment should be laid out to provide a flow of materials around the processing room with a minimum amount of cross over.

HANDOUT 3: PROCESSING ROOM LAYOUT EXERCISE

(Production of Fruit Syrup)

Figure

HANDOUT 3B: PROCESSING ROOM LAYOUT EXERCISE

(Production of Fruit Syrup)

Figure

OHP 4: HYGIENIC DESIGN

Figure

Effects of Processing on Food Quality

Objectives:	To enable participants to describe the effects of processing on food quality.
Duration:	3 - 4 hours

Use a question and answer session to elicit the following:

· Microbiological quality is improved compared to the raw material when processing (especially washing, blanching etc.) is correctly performed. Note that drying and freezing do not destroy micro-organisms and blanching/raw material preparation is therefore very important.

· Sensory quality should be enhanced or at best unchanged by processing (compare frying/baking in which the aim is to change flavour/colour to freezing when sensory quality is mostly unchanged). However, some processes cause undesirable changes often due to heat such as colour loss, softening etc. which are minimised by careful control over the processing conditions. If necessary use a hum group to decide important quality factors.

· Nutritional quality of foods is reduced by many food processes compared to the fresh food. This is usually caused by heat damage to vitamins, but light, metals (from equipment) and air also have important effects on some vitamins.

· Some processes (e.g. fermentation and blending of cereals and pulses) increase the nutritional value of foods. Other foods have anti-nutritional factors which are destroyed by processing, therefore increasing the availability of nutrients.

If necessary include in this session a brief description on the nutritional roles of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fibre, minerals and vitamins.

SUMMARY HANDOUT

This session has enabled you to describe the effects of processing on food quality.

Microbiological quality is improved compared to the raw material when processing (especially washing, blanching etc.) is correctly performed. Note that drying and freezing do not destroy micro-organisms and blanching/raw material preparation is therefore very important.

Sensory quality should be enhanced or at best unchanged by processing (compare frying/baking in which the aim is to change flavour/colour to freezing when sensory quality is mostly unchanged). However, some processes cause undesirable changes - often due to heat - such as colour loss, softening etc. which are minimised by careful control over the processing conditions.

Nutritional quality of foods is reduced by many food processes compared to the fresh food. This is usually caused by heat damage to vitamins, but light, metals (from equipment) and air also have important effects on some vitamins.

Some processes (e.g. fermentation and blending of cereals and pulses) increase the nutritional value of foods. Other foods have anti-nutritional factors which are destroyed by processing, therefore increasing the availability of nutrients.

Nutrition and Diet

Objectives:	To enable participants to describe some of the effects of processing on nutritional quality of foods.
Duration:	0.5 - 1 hour (optional)

This section is optional depending on the interests of the participants and the available time, as it falls somewhat outside food processing. The main points to discuss are as follows:

· A balanced diet is essential for health. Continued deficiency in any one nutrient will lead to ill health.

· As nutrients are provided by all foods a mixed diet should ensure that a balance of nutrients is eaten over time. The losses due to processing are not important if the individual processed food forms only a small part of the diet (e.g. jam, fruit juice) or if the nutrient loss in one processed food is made up by nutrients from another (e.g. amino acid deficiencies in wheat flour are made up by mixing with legume flour to make a composite flour.)

· Common dietary deficiencies are often associated with low consumption of animal products and/or green vegetables - either due to high cost or unavailability. These include protein deficiency, vitamin B deficiency, iron deficiency (especially in women), vitamin A deficiency and calcium deficiency. If relevant the effects of these deficiencies can be described and a list of foods that are rich in these nutrients can be compiled. However, emphasise that a mixed diet is essential and a few nutrient-rich foods should not be relied on.

Complete the session by summarising the days work and clarifying/expanding details as necessary in response to questions.

SUMMARY HANDOUT

This session has enabled you to describe some of the effects of processing on nutritional quality of foods.

A balanced diet is essential for health. Continued deficiency in any one nutrient will lead to ill health.

As nutrients are provided by all foods, a mixed diet should ensure that a balance of nutrients is eaten over time. The losses due to processing are not important if the individual processed food forms only a small part of the diet (e.g. jam, fruit juice) or if the nutrient loss in one processed food is made up by nutrients from another (e.g. amino acid deficiencies in wheat flour are made up by mixing with legume flour to make a composite flour.)

Common dietary deficiencies are often associated with low consumption of animal products and/or green vegetables - either due to high cost or unavailability. These include protein deficiency, vitamin B deficiency, iron deficiency especially in women, vitamin A deficiency and calcium deficiency.

Food Processing for Income Generation compared to Home Processing

Objectives:	To enable participants to describe the differences in food processing for home use or for income generation and the main technical requirements for small businesses
	To enable them to list the potential advantages of food processing as an income generating activity for rural poor.
Duration:	4 - 6 hours

Session Guide:

1. Home Processing versus Processing for Sale (2 hours approx.)

The requirements for processing for home preservation or income generation are different. Ask participants (e.g. using a syndicate exercise) what they think are the differences and bring out the following points:

In home processing

· The variation in quality is acceptable to the consumers (the family).
· The packaging requirements are low.
· The quantities involved are smaller.
· Investment in equipment is less.

In processing for sale

· The producer does not know who will eat the food, where/when/how it will be prepared and what the customers think of it.

· The food will usually have to be packaged to ensure an adequate shelf life.

· The package must attract potential customers to buy the food and instruct them on what is being bought and how to prepare it.

· The weight of food in the pack should be the same as that declared on the label and the quality and weight of food should be the same in every pack.

· More skills required in quality control procedures, packaging and marketing techniques for products that are sold whereas they are not needed so much for home consumption.

· Hired labour is needed and greater amounts of food are usually produced compared to home processing.

· Usually the business should be registered.

The above factors increases the production costs for the food and it is not therefore possible to say that because a food is produced successfully in the home it can be easily produced for sale. Ask participants to list the main advantages of food processing for income generation. Repeat the exercise for the main limitations.

2. Advantages and Constraints of Food Processing (2 hours approx.)

Write the lists on a flipchart and ensure that the following aspects are discussed:

Main advantages:

· food is familiar
· raw materials are available
· products are often in demand and affordable
· production costs are relatively low
· there is good opportunity to add value to foods and hence generate income
· household savings in time and money are possible
· the technology is usually simple and people quickly become familiar with it
· the work is suitable for both men and women
· the technology is usually suitable for use in rural areas (electricity and fuel consumption are often low)

Direct the discussion to emphasise any differences arising from different geographical areas (e.g. urban/rural areas).

Main constraints:

· availability of raw materials (seasonality) and packaging materials

· confidence/expertise to market products

· availability and cost of finance, foreign exchange restrictions

· technical knowledge and training needs

· availability of equipment, spare parts and services (electricity etc.)

· higher investment in equipment and the use of equipment that is dedicated to one or more products (home equipment usually has multiple uses)

· safety of products

These constraints can be re-grouped under two headings - Finance and Training. Redraw the list under these headings and lead a discussion of how the main constraints of finance and training needs can be overcome. Describe the benefits of the present course in combining business and technical aspects.

Conclude the session by asking participants to summarise the main objectives of food processing (e.g. in a buzz group). Elicit the following objectives:

· income generation
· reduced food wastage/losses
· improved food quality and variety
· other social/economic benefits (e.g. stimulation of agricultural productivity)

SUMMARY HANDOUT

This session has enabled you to describe the differences in food processing for home use or for income generation and the main technical requirements for small businesses. It has also enabled you to list the potential advantages of food processing as an income generating activity.

The requirements for processing for home preservation/income generation are different.

In home processing

· The variation in quality is acceptable to the consumers (the family).
· The packaging requirements are low.
· The quantities involved are smaller.
· Investment in equipment is less.

In processing for sale

· The producer does not know who will eat the food, where/when/how it will be prepared and what the customers think of it.

· The food will usually have to be packaged to ensure an adequate shelf life.

· The package must attract potential customers to buy the food and instruct them on what is being bought and how to prepare it.

· The weight of food in the pack should be the same as that declared on the label and the quality and weight of food should be the same in every pack.

· More skills required in quality control procedures, packaging and marketing techniques for products that are sold whereas they are not needed so much for home consumption.

· Hired labour is needed and greater amounts of food are usually produced compared to home processing.

· Usually the business should be registered.

These factors increase the production costs for the food and it is therefore not possible to say that because a food is produced successfully in the home it can be easily produced for sale.

Main advantages:

· food is familiar,
· raw materials are available,
· products are often in demand and affordable,
· production costs are relatively low,
· there is good opportunity to add value to foods and hence generate income,
· household savings in time and money are possible,
· the technology is usually simple and people quickly become familiar with it,
· the work is suitable for both men and women,
· the technology is usually suitable for use in rural areas (electricity and fuel consumption are often low).

Main constraints:

· availability of raw materials (seasonality) and packaging materials,

· confidence/expertise to market products,

· availability and cost of finance, foreign exchange restrictions,

· technical knowledge and training needs,

· availability of equipment, spare parts and services (electricity etc.),

· higher investment in equipment and the use of equipment that is dedicated to one or more products (home equipment usually has multiple uses),

· safety of products.

Main objectives of food processing:

· income generation
· reduced food wastage/losses
· improved food quality and variety
· other social/economic benefits (e.g. stimulation of agricultural productivity)

Small Scale Processes for Income Generation

Objectives:	To enable participants to describe potentially suitable types of small scale food processing technologies and types of products.
Duration:	3 - 4 hours

Ask the participants in a buzz group to discuss the list of processes drawn on the flipchart in the session on Spoilage and Preservation and fixed to the wall. Ask them to describe the criteria that make a process suitable for people from their areas (e.g. hot, dry weather suitable for drying, demand for bread makes a bakery suitable, fruits available and juice in demand, etc.). Summarise the criteria on a flipchart.

Write on the flipchart a final list of suitable processes which should contain the following:

drying	baking	roasting	boiling (jams, syrups, etc.)
fermentation	milling	pasteurisation	pressing
frying

Freezing and chilling may also be suitable in some countries but to be successful they may need a refrigerated transport system.

Ask participants to describe why each process is suitable (reasons may include cost, fuel/power consumption, technology, safety, skill level, etc.)

Processes that are generally unsuitable for small scale processing include the following:

canning	freeze drying	irradiation	hot extrusion (e.g. crispy snackfoods)
	solvent extraction of cooking oil

Ask participants to describe why each process is unsuitable.

Ask participants in groups to draw up a list of foods that are potentially suitable for small scale processing and a second list of those that are likely to be unsuitable, taking note of the flipcharts from the session which describes the characteristics of foods.

The first list will normally contain the following potentially suitable foods:

baked goods	snackfoods	nuts
pulses	herbs and spices	mushrooms
oils and fats	sugar confectionary	syrups
honey	fermented foods	fruit products

some vegetable products (e.g. pickles)
some dairy products (e.g. yoghurt and cheese)

Go through the list to explain why each product is suitable (e.g. safety of dry foods, concentrated foods and acidic foods, low cost technology, etc.).

Those products that are generally unsuitable (at least for the first food processing venture for an individual) include the following:

· shellfish
· most meat products (except dried meat)
· some dairy products (e.g. ice cream, cream, dried milk)
· some fish products (e.g. canned)
· some vegetable products (e.g. canned)
· egg products

Go through the list to explain why each product is unsuitable (e.g. risk of food poisoning from low acid foods, high cost of processing, expensive complicated technology, etc.).

SUMMARY HANDOUT

This session has enabled you to describe potentially suitable types of small scale food processing technologies and types of products.

You described the criteria that make a process suitable for rural people from your areas (e.g. hot, dry weather suitable for drying, demand for bread makes a bakery suitable, fruits available and juice on demand, etc.).

Suitable processes

drying	baking, roasting
boiling (jams, syrups, etc.)	fermentation
milling	pasteurisation
pressing	frying

Freezing and chilling may also be suitable in some countries but to be successful a refrigerated transport system may be needed.

You also described why each process is suitable.

Processes that are generally unsuitable for small scale processing include the following:

canning	freeze drying	irradiation
hot extrusion (e.g. crispy snackfoods)		solvent extraction of cooking oil

Foods that are potentially suitable for small scale processing:

baked goods	snackfoods	nuts
pulses	herbs and spices	mushrooms
oils and fats	sugar confectionary	syrups
honey	fermented foods	fruit products

some vegetable products (e.g. pickles)
some dairy products (e.g. yoghurt and cheese)

Those products that are generally unsuitable (at least for the first food processing venture for an individual) include the following:

· shellfish
· most meat products (except dried meat)
· some dairy products (e.g. ice cream, cream, dried milk)
· some fish products (e.g. canned)
· some vegetable products (e.g. canned).
· egg products

Summary of Technology Choice Sessions

Objectives:	To review previous work and answer any outstanding questions.
Duration:	1 - 1.5 hours

Ask participants in groups to discuss the work of the previous five days and produce a list of unanswered questions. Use discussions of the whole group, question and answer sessions and buzz groups as appropriate to review outstanding topics/questions and explore further any topics that are of particular interest to participants.

(introduction...)

Figure

The Enterprise Experience: Presentation of Proposals

Objective:	To enable participants to present a simple loan proposal or business plan to a committee, to learn from their mistakes and be able to ask detailed questions during further sessions about business plan preparation.
Duration:	Up to half a day, depending on the number of businesses to present a proposal.

Session Guide:

1. If practical, each business should have handed in their proposal the day before the session, to allow the instructor and the "banker" to be prepared for the session.

All enterprises should be given flip chart paper or the like to prepare their presentations.

2. A suitable staff member should play the role of the "banker"; she/he should be well briefed as to the nature of the Enterprise Experience, and its objectives, and should have had the opportunity to study the proposals in advance. He/she also should get a copy of the "Guidelines for the Banker" (see last page of this session guide).

3. A representative of each business should make a presentation, to last at most ten minutes, supported by flip chart, overhead projector or other enhancements if appropriate. Those businesses who are going to ask for a loan should be the first to present in order to allow time for changes if their applications are refused.

Participants whose businesses do not need a loan, either because they need no initial capital or because they wish to finance them themselves, should still make a presentation, but to invite comments and suggestions, not an acceptance or refusal.

4. Participants whose applications are refused, if any, must quickly revise their plans; this may involve revision of the presentation, change of business idea, joining another business, break up of the partnership or other changes. If possible, allow them to make and confirm their new plans during the cession, so that everyone knows what they are going to do at the end of the session.

5. There is no reason to demand that participants should stick to their plans; some of the most successful businesses are those which change rapidly and unexpectedly in response to changes in circumstances. An entrepreneur should not continue with a bad business just because she presented it to a banker and received a loan to implement it.

6. "Process" the experiences of obtaining information, preparing the proposal and presenting it to the banker:

· Did some participants find it difficult and even annoying to have to put figures to their ideas?

· Were they able easily to "translate" comments such as "we shall sell lots of that" into a precise figure of how many sales would be made?

· Other participants will have found it easier to quantify their ideas: Are any of the partnerships made up of a quantitative and a qualitative person? How do the qualitative thinkers cope with their difficulty in their own, real businesses?

Elicit the two extremes of quantitative versus qualitative thinkers:

· Puts a figure on everything: the accountant.
· Thinks only in ideas and broad concepts: the artist.

Ask participants to place themselves between these two extremes. Show how an entrepreneur must be in the middle; she must have vision and broad concepts, but she must also be willing and able to put figures to her dreams, to satisfy the outsiders such as bankers but also to be able to manage the business successfully.

7. Ask participants how they obtained the information necessary for their proposals:

· Did they ask from one source, and then give up if they failed?

· Did they cross-check their data by asking for information from different sources, in different ways?

· What ingenious ways did they use to obtain apparently unavailable information?

· Did they obtain information which was unnecessary, and which they did not use, for the sake of obtaining it, or were they able to use all the information they obtained?

8. Remind participants of the objectives they stated for their businesses; were they clear, measurable and attainable? It may have seemed difficult to state such objectives, even for these very small businesses which will only last for a short time. Stress that entrepreneur must have clear objectives, for their own lives as well as for their businesses.

9. Remind participants of the sessions about entrepreneurial characteristics: They should use the implementation of their Enterprise Experience businesses as a means to strengthen their weaker entrepreneurial characteristics.

GUIDELINES FOR THE BANKER

· Ensure that participants keep to the time limit.

· Be as intimidating and discouraging as bank managers can be.

· Express or imply doubts that a woman in particular can run the business as outlined.

· Respond positively to genuinely effective responses, and do not act defensively to possibly over-assertive behaviour.

· Give positive and useful advice, not merely destructive criticism, and try to approve most if not all the loan requests.

· Ensure that the offered security is genuine and saleable, and seal it in a container, clearly labelled.

· Ensure that the applicants understand their obligation, the interest added, and the strict requirement to repay.

· Be ready to suggest alternative sources of finance, such as increased owners' equity or external equity from friends or colleagues, if the loan is unacceptable, more than can be granted or insufficient for the needs of the enterprise.

Finding out about the Market

Objective:	To enable participants to find out what their customers want.
Duration:	90 to 120 minutes

Session Guide:

1. Remind participants that any business must be led by the market. Stress this through suitable quotations such as:

"The purpose of a Business is to create a Customer"
or
"The customer is King (or Queen)"

Everything else, such as raw materials, equipment, staffing, premises, capital and so on must depend on what customers want.

2. Point out that there are two possible approaches to starting or running a business, which may be illustrated by the following imaginary statements that might be made by someone starting a bakery business:

"I can bake this type of cakes and I can get an oven, so I shall start a business making these cakes"
OR
"People need bread of this price and quality; I have the necessary skills and access to the equipment, so I will satisfy their needs in this way"

Ask which is preferable; clearly the second, which is MARKET as opposed to PRODUCTION oriented.

3. Ask participants to think about how they decided what type of enterprise to start for the "Enterprise Experience". Remind them of the process of being frustrated by their own problems (dull food, lack of entertainment, lack of time to buy gifts to take home or dirty clothes) to identifying opportunities for enterprises (snack foods, a disco, making soft toys or running a laundry).

Ask participants what they actually did; did anyone carry out even an informal survey, or was it enough to assume that if they themselves had a problem, their colleagues on the course would probably have the same one.

Stress that this may be quite adequate for the "Enterprise Experience" but there is a need for more information when you want to start or to expand a business, with your money and your livelihood at risk; market studies are not just something done by large firms, or something needed by bankers as part of a feasibility study; they are an essential tool for anyone proposing to start or expand a business.

4. Ask participants how they can find out what customers want; elicit the suggestion, "by asking them", and then elicit the two major problems in this approach:

· You cannot usually ask all of them, because there are too many.

· When people are asked "would you buy this or that?", they may not respond exactly as they would when they actually have to decide whether to buy or not; it is easier to say "yes" than actually to pay.

5. Deal with the first problem; ask how many of the participants are left handed; show that the proportion is probably not too different from that of the population as a whole, even though you have only asked twenty or thirty people.

Ask how many of the class are female; clearly this answer is not true for the population as a whole; similarly, ask how many have five or more children, or live in the capital city; elicit the comment that these answers may not be typical of the population as a whole; ask why this is so, and elicit the suggestion that this group is not TYPICAL, or REPRESENTATIVE, of the population as a whole, because they have probably been specially selected; they may come from a particular higher than average income group which tends to have smaller than average families, or the very fact that they are in business for themselves may mean that they also have smaller families.

Elicit the conclusion that a small SAMPLE, maybe no more than forty or fifty people, can give you quite accurate information about the market, so long as they are TYPICAL of the group to whom you want to sell your product.

6. Remind participants of the other problem; asking people something is not the same as selling them something; ask for suggestions as to how this can be overcome:

Elicit suggestions such as the following:

· Try the business on a small scale, even at a loss, since information is worth money if it avoids subsequent larger losses.

· A restaurant's proposed food can be tried in a kiosk or market, a shop's products can be tried in a temporary stall, samples of clothes can be sold to friends or through shops on a trial basis.

· Study competitors' operations; count their customers, check their prices, observe what and how their customers buy.

· Study published data on imports and exports, numbers of vehicles, income levels and so on as indicators of the market for your goods or services.

7. Remind participants that if they have no competitors it may be because they have no market; if there are large numbers of similar businesses, this usually represents an opportunity to find out what extra service is needed, and to provide a similar product which is different and better in a particular way; what is needed has to be found out through the type of enquiry which has been suggested.

Remind participants who wish to undertake surveys or use questionnaires that they can get assistance from various sources; stress finally that information should only be obtained which is useful; before you ask any question, you should ask:

"What am I going to DO with this information?"
If you cannot say, do not waste time and money getting the answer!

HANDOUT 1: FINDING OUT ABOUT THE MARKET

Entrepreneurs see opportunities, where other people see problems.

When people have a NEED, they have a PROBLEM.

You can SATISFY their need, that is your OPPORTUNITY.

BUT, you must be as sure as you can that you know what they need, where they are, how they are trying to satisfy the need right now.

· A market study is not a complicated expensive thing that only big companies can do, or that you only need to satisfy the bankers.

· It is practical, economical way of reducing your risk and finding out how you can help people to satisfy their needs.

But there are 2 major problems:

1. You can't ask ALL your potential customers, it would take too long.

2. What people SAY they will buy is not the same as what they WILL buy.

SO: ask a SAMPLE, which is typical of the whole group, and need not be more than fifty or so people.

And: whenever possible, TRY OUT your product or service, on a small scale, to see if people actually WILL buy it.

Sources of Information

Published Data: for trends, exports and imports.

Questionnaire surveys: try out the questionnaire first, do not try to get too much information, and be sure WHY you want to know what you are trying to find out.

Observation: count the traffic, watch the shoppers, look at the advertisements.

The competitors: how well are they doing, where are they, what do their customers think, what are their prices?

Remember:

· if there are no competitors, maybe there is no market.

· if there are very many competitors, the market must be very big, maybe you can find a "niche" where nobody else is selling.

· the business that everyone says you should go into today is probably the one where everyone will be losing their money tomorrow.

Counselling: Your Business and You

Objective:	To enable participants to exchange views and experiences on the personal aspects and experiences in a small group.
Duration:	Min. 1 hour

Session Guide:

1. Distribute the questionnaire "Your Business and You" well in advance and ask participants to complete it for this session.

2. Be sure you have carefully studied the questionnaire before this counselling session.

3. Start the session by introducing yourself, if necessary, and explain that the objective of these sessions is to provide an opportunity for a closer exchange of views and experiences than is possible in class.

4. Ask the members to summerise their answers to the four questions: how many "As", "Bs", "Cs" and "Ds", ask all the members:

· is it important that a business woman should consider this question?

· if it is, how can those members who have written C or D nevertheless succeed in business? Promote discussion on this issue.

· if it is not important, why not, how can a woman who is doubtful about this issue succeed in her own business?

Ensure that those who put an "A" for any question have really thought it through; encourage sharing of experiences of the types of problems that can arise with time, money, husbands and children, so that all members of the group understand what they are facing.

Ensure that all members of the group realise that full rime ommitment is like marriage; if you are not completely sure that this is the right thing, DO NOT DO IT!

5. Finally, ask members of the group to share their answers to the last question; make sure that their answers are clear and specific; for example, not "to learn how to keep records" but "to earn how to avoid cash losses and to know exactly how much money I have at any given time".

HANDOUT 1: YOUR BUSINESS AND YOU

QUESTIONNAIRE

Please complete this in time for the next counselling session.

Whether you are already occupied full-time in business, or you are still working pan-time and intending to resign from employment in the future, you can be sure of one thing:

your business will occupy MORE of your time, MORE of your money, and MORE of your emotional energy in the future than it does now.

It is therefore vital to think through the relationships between your business, your family and yourself very carefully.

Below you will see a number of statements: read each one carefully, and think about it; then write an "A", a "B", a "C" or a "D" in the space beside the statement:

If you are completely sure that it is true, write an "A".
If you think it is true, but you are not quite sure, write a "B".
If you are rather doubtful that it is true, write a "C".
If you are quite sure that it is NOT true, write a "D".

You need not show the paper to anyone else; be honest with yourself.

1. I LOVE this business, and I want to devote the majority of the next five years at least to developing it.	...................
2. Every business can fail. I am prepared to lose ALL the money and other possessions presently tied up in my business, and to face what this would mean for my family.	....................
3. (If you are married.) My husband fully supports me in this business, and I am confident that he will not stop me or take away the money.	......................
4. (If you have children.) I am confident that my children will not suffer because I propose to devote so much time and energy to my business.	........................

Think very hard about any questions where you have written a C or a D. Are you REALLY in the right business? Is self-employment REALLY the right thing for you? Try also to think about how you would answer the following questions:

· Why am I in this particular type of business?

· This course is not going to provide me with money, raw materials or equipment, but it can give me new SKILLS. What SINGLE thing do I want to be able to do after the course, that I cannot do now?

The Marketing Mix

Objectives:	1. To enable participants to identify the basic marketing mix, the four "Ps".
	2. To enable participants to identify the Unique Selling Point of their businesses.
Duration:	90 to 120 minutes

Session Guide:

1. Introduce the session by describing a business, such as a restaurant or a tailoring shop, whose owner has recently invested heavily in production improvements, but without any corresponding increase in sales.

Write the outline details on the board, and ask participants to suggest ways in which the owner might put matters right. Elicit as many suggestions as possible, and list them in four different columns, without at this stage explaining the basis of the categorisation.

2. The final lists might read as below, without the headings at this stage:

PRODUCT	PLACE
Higher quality	Longer opening hours
Bigger quantities	Better decoration
Better finish	Different location
Better packaging	Home delivery
Better labels	Faster service
More varieties
Different colours
PROMOTION	PRICE
Advertising	Higher prices
Signboards	Lower prices
Competitions	Longer credit
Editorial mentions	Quantity discounts
Different names	Special offers

3. Ask participants to suggest why you have divided the suggestions into the four different lists; guide them to the understanding of the four different "Ps", and write in the headings as above.

Introduce the concept of the marketing mix, using the analogy of a dish where the final outcome can be varied to suit the taste of whoever will eat it, by adding more or less of the various possible ingredients. Illustrate this by drawing a pie diagram, and show how a segment can be increased or decreased but that this will affect the size of the segment taken by each of the others.

4. Confirm participants' understanding by asking them to suggest which of the four Ps is most emphasised in each of the following cases:

Coca-Cola (The promotion, because the price is high, the product is only sugar, water and flavouring, and it is available everywhere)

A newspaper vendor (The place, because people will only buy a newspaper where it is convenient, they will not walk more than a few yards to get one)

Petrol (The place, except where there are many garages in one town, because drivers have to buy petrol where they are running short of fuel)

Non-urgent medical care (the product, people will pay any sum, and travel a long way, to get the best care)

Rationed goods (the price, because it is usually inconvenient to get them, and the quality may be low, but the price means that it is worth while, nevertheless)

5. Ask participants to suggest alternative methods for each of the four Ps, that may not have been mentioned in the context of the business which you used as an example at the beginning; use the same headings, and ensure that items such as trade fairs, in-store displays, sales agents, radio, television and newspaper advertising, public relations campaigns and so on are included.

6. Ask participants to think about their own products; what is their marketing mix, and how should they improve it in order to sell the increased quantities of goods which they wish to produce?

7. Introduce the notion of the USP, or unique selling point which each business must have if it is to survive and prosper.

Ask participants to recall the last time they bought anything, whether it was a newspaper, a snack or something more important such as a dress or a bag of flour; why did they buy that product, from that supplier?

Elicit reasons such as:

· the place where the product was sold was convenient
· it was available at the right time for them
· the price was the lowest available
· the product was available at all, being in short supply
· the person who sold it was friendly and pleasant to deal with
· the place where it was sold was a pleasant one.

Show that for each person, at that time and place, that supplier was unique in the sense that she decided to buy there.

8. Ask participants what is their USP, which will lead their customers to buy from them. Allow them up to ten minutes to write down why they think their customers really buy from them.

Ask them to read out their conclusions about their own products; discuss them, compare the different USP suggestions for the same "products"; show how restaurant meals, or cooking oil, can actually be serving quite different needs, depending on their location, price level, selling environment, "image" and other aspects of the marketing mix.

HANDOUT 1: MARKETING POINTS TO REMEMBER

The "Four Ps", Product, Place, Promotion and Price:

The Product (or service)

· its presentation, its packaging, its varieties, its design, its colours, its styles, its materials.

The Place

· where it is bought, the physical and social barriers, home delivery, the distribution channels, transport, the atmosphere, the decoration.

The Promotion

· advertising, free publicity, personal selling, shows, exhibitions, in-shop displays, mailings, phone calls.

The Price

· the amount, the status and quality of high prices, the discounts, the credit terms, the danger of bargaining.

All these, and many more, are the INGREDIENTS of the "mix" that you must select in order to provide your chosen customer group with the best "bundle" of values; there is far more to it than just price and quality!

What is your USP, your Unique Selling Point? WHY do people buy YOUR product or service, not somebody else's, what is your plus point?

Identify it and build on it, do not destroy it!

Remember, you are selling BENEFITS, nor products; it can be status, entertainment, enjoyment, attractiveness or convenience just as much as nourishment, or warmth or decency. Remember Coca-Cola!

Some rules for successful marketing:

· Good marketers sell products that don't come back to customer who do.
· Successful marketing is a matter of building and sustaining human relationships.
· Put yourself in your customer's shoes.
· Make it easy for people to do business with you.

Costing and Pricing

Objectives:	1. To enable participants to calculate the costs of their products or services.
	2. To enable participants to identify and apply different pricing methods.
Duration:	4 - 5 hours

Session Guide:

1. The case study "Gina's Cake Business" should have been distributed the day before this session, so that participants could attempt to complete the assignment.

2. Refer back to the individual Enterprise Experience businesses; it is most likely that the prices they are charging for their products or services are not based on proper costing but on rough estimates or guesses. Tell participants that this session is an introduction on how to calculate the costs and how to decide on the price of their products or services.

3. Because it is very likely that some participants have not read the case-study "Gina's Cake Business", ask one participant to read it aloud. Ask for a volunteer to suggest what is the cost of each banana cake which Gina makes, and elicit, by reference to other participants if necessary, the following summary of the costs:

Ingredients:
	· flour
	· milk
	· sugar
	· butter
	· salt
	· baking powder
	· eggs
	· fruits
	Costs for 200 cakes = K 4,250
	Costs for 1 cake = K 4,250 : 200 cakes =	K 21.25
Labour:
	· made 4 cakes from 14 - 18 o'clock, that is 8 cakes in 8 hours or 1 working day
	· works 25 days a month, that makes 200 cakes per month (8 cakes per day x 25 days)
	· needs K 600 a month to survive;
	K 600 labour per month : 200 cakes per month = labour costs per cake	K 3.00
Supplies:
	· aluminium foil
	· cleanser
	Costs for 6 months = K 300, that makes K 50 per month;
	Costs of supplies per cake = K 50 : 200 cakes =	K 0.25
Oven depreciation:
	· the oven cost K 6,000
	· it last 10 years; at the end of 10 years the oven will be worth almost nothing; every year its value decreases by K 600 (K 6,000 : 10) every month it decreases by K 50 (600 : 12)
	· with every cake made the value of the oven decreases:
	K 50 depreciation per month : 200 cakes =	K 0.25
	Total cost per cake	K 24.75

4. Ensure that all participants fully understand the way in which this cost has been calculated. Stress the doubtful value of depreciation as a way of ensuring that enough money is available for replacing equipment, particularly in times of inflation and when technology is changing.

5. Ask another participant to comment on the figures which Gina has produced as a basis for costing her cakes; elicit criticisms such as the following:

· By allowing for 25 working days per month, and 8 working hours per day, she has allowed no time for selling, for buying material, or other ancillary tasks which are essential if she is to run a business.

· There is no allowance for wastage of material, for maintenance of the oven beyond the supplies she has allowed for, or for transport expenses in buying material or delivering the cakes.

6. Ask participants to repeat the calculation of costs for Gina's banana cake, but this time with more realistic figures. Let everyone decide, what realistic means: 2 or 8 hours for selling the cakes every month, 10% or 30% of wastage, and so on. The costs for transport have to be guessed.

Compare and discuss the different results. Encourage a discussion about the costing of the products or services they produce in their own businesses or in their Enterprise Experience businesses.

7. Ask participants to suggest what price Gina should charge. They may suggest K 25, K 27 or some similar figure based on a standard percentage added to the cost; elicit through discussion the following three most commonly used pricing methods:

The cost-plus method: this is done by adding a reasonable profit margin, say 5 to 15% to the final costs of the product or service.

The comparative method: this is done by comparing the product or service to others on the market and then, based on its costs and quality, fixing the price below, above or at the same level as the comparative products or services.

The what-the-market-will-bear method: this method is based on the relation between demand and supply of a product or service; if a product is scarce on the market, the price could be higher than the one calculated with the cost-plus method; similarly, if there is too much of a product on the market, the price may have to be fixed even below the one of the cost-plus method.

Gina has given no indication of what competitors are charging for similar cakes, and she should clearly find out and price her cakes at a level which will enable her to sell them, which may indeed be higher than competitive prices if her quality is higher.

8. Ask participants what Gina should do if she finds that comparable cakes are apparently being offered to the shop-keeper for K 23 each; elicit the suggestion that she should closely examine the costs and amount of ingredients she is planning to use, since the actual time she is taking and the payment she is receiving on the basis of her costs of K 24.75 is very small.

9. Ask what she should do if it appears that competitors are pricing similar cakes at K 50 or more; elicit that she should charge what the market will bear, and should use her costs only as a "floor" beneath which she should not allow her prices to fall since she will otherwise be losing money and would be better occupied working for even a moderate salary.

10. Ask participants whether they have had the experience of being "undercut" by competitors who are clearly unaware of their costs, and are losing money but at the same time preventing competitors who do know their costs from covering them and making a profit; ask for examples of how this has been overcome, refer if necessary to suggestions such as:

· providing packaging and delivery services
· selling on credit, carefully controlled to carefully selected customers
· adding inexpensive but stylish additions such as decoration, labels or other features
· providing ancilliary benefits, such as pleasant service, modest entertainment to customers when they are buying or other appropriate inducements which cost very little but can often yield a good return in higher prices.

HANDOUT 1: HOW TO CALCULATE COSTS

Every business woman needs to know what the costs of her products or services are. By knowing your costs you have a basis to decide your sales price and your pricing policy. Only by knowing your costs are you able to calculate whether your buiness is making a profit or a loss.

The cost of a product is composed of different elements:

Raw materials:

In Gina's Cake Business these are the ingredients for her cakes (flour, milk, salt and so on)

Labour, or better: Direct Labour:

This is the cost of all labour that is directly involved in the production of the good. In Gina's case it is her own wage, because she is the one who bakes the cakes.

Overheads:

These are all the other costs which cannot easily be allocated to each item that is produced such as rent, electricity, water, transport, sales costs (e.g. posters for your salespromotion), administration costs, indirect labour (e.g. the salary of the manager, of the secretary, the accountant, the store keeper and the like), and the costs of interest and depreciation. In Gina's case these are the supplies and the depreciation of the oven.

By adding the costs of raw material, of labour and of overheads you get the total costs of production. If you want to calculate the cost of one item, divide the total costs by the number of items produced. Take for example Gina's cake business:

Costs to produce 200 cakes (in one month):

Raw materials/ingredients			K 4,250
Labour			K 600
Overheads for one month
	supplies	K50
	depreciation	K50
			K 100
Total costs			K 4,950
Cost per cake:		K 4,950 : 200 =	K 24.75

HANDOUT 2: HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT PRICE

Fixing the sales price of a product is one of the most important and difficult decisions that has to be made. Demand for products change, as well as the costs involved in making the product. Fixing a price is therefore a decision that has to be reviewed continually. Even in countries where prices are controlled by the government there is some room for fixing your price; proper costing may help you to convince the authorities that the price limit is too low.

There are three commonly used ways of fixing the sales price of a product:

The cost-plus method:

This is done by adding a reasonable profit margin, say 5 to 15% to the final costs of the product or service.

The comparative method:

This is done by comparing the product or service to others on the market and then, based on its costs and quality, fixing the price below, above or at the same level as the comparative products or services. If the price of other similar products is below the cost of your product, you have to reduce your cost or in some way make your product more attractive than the competition, so you can charge a higher price.

The what-the-market-will-bear method:

This method is based on the relation between demand and supply of a product or service; if a product is scarce on the market, the price could be higher than the one calculated with the cost-plus method; similarly, if there is too much of a product on the market, the price may have to be fixed even below that realized by the cost-plus method. If this is below your costs, you have to do as above.

HANDOUT 3: CASE STUDY

Gina's Cake Business

Gina was good at baking and cooking, and she started her business with a new oven, which she bought with K 6000 which she had received when she took early retirement from her job. She had bought the best oven she could find, and her friends told her that such an oven would last at least ten years of frequent use. She also had a small pension, and reckoned that she could survive if she could earn K 600 a month from her baking business.

She tried different recipes, baked several cakes, and took them to the shopkeeper. He was very impressed with the taste and quality, and said that he hoped he would be able to sell lots of such cakes to his customers. He asked Gina what price she wanted to charge; she realised that she had not decided on a price, so she made an excuse and said she would come back tomorrow with a quotation.

When she got home she wondered what she should do; she knew that she had spent K 4250 on ingredients such as flour, milk, sugar, butter, salt, baking powder, eggs and fruits, and that this was enough for 200 cakes, but beyond this she had no idea. She had also spent K 300 on aluminium foil, cleanser for the oven and other supplies, which she thought would last for six months, and since she worked from home she had no other expenses.

Gina thought she could think better about the problem of pricing while she was working, so she decided to make another cake. She was used to working eight hours a day, for 25 days a month, and it was 14.00 hours when she started. By 18.00 hours, she had made four cakes, but she still had no idea what price she should ask the shopkeeper to pay.

Assignment:

· What is the cost of each cake that Gina makes?
· What price should she charge for each cake?
· Does she need more information, and if so, what?

Counselling: Entrepreneurial Self-Rating

Objective:	To enable participants to identify their own strengths and weaknesses for entrepreneurship.
Duration:	Min. 60 minutes

Session Guide:

1. Distribute the questionnaire "Entrepreneurial Self-Rating" well in advance and ask participants to complete it for this session.

2. Ask members of your group to state which of the questions they have marked "D". Ask them to check that their answers are right by describing incidents when they clearly did NOT display the son of behaviour mentioned; ensure that they cannot recall ANY occasions when they did display it.

When each member who has written any "Ds'' is sure that she was right in so doing, ask them to suggest how this particular weakness has, or has not, damaged their businesses. Is this type of behaviour really so important, have they discovered effective ways of compensating for its absence?

Encourage discussion of ways in which this might be done, such as by hiring or going into partnership with someone who does have the quality that is missing, developing ways of doing business which do not require it, and so on.

3. Go through any "Cs" in the same way; then identify those qualities which one or more of the group feel they lack, and which they agree are important and should be acquired; how can someone develop these qualities in themselves?

Discuss various ways in which this might be done; remind members that anyone can do almost anything if she really WANTS to; people who are shy, or who give up easily, can overcome these weaknesses, and do, if they really are motivated to succeed.

4. Ask members to recall their behaviour as children: how did they learn to do what they were told ? They were rewarded if they did, and were punished if they did not. In business, successful efforts to change yourself are rewarded by success, and failure is punished by losses. This experience of self-examination should help members to see where they need to change, and show them what they need to do if they really wish to succeed.

HANDOUT 1: ENTREPRENEURIAL SELF-RATING

QUESTIONNAIRE

Please complete this in time for the next counselling session.

On the next page you will find seventeen statements about yourself; beside them is a space where you should write "A", "B", "C" or "D".

If you think that the statement is quite correct, and that you behave in that way all the time, write "A" beside it.

If you think that it is more or less correct, and that you usually behave in that way, write "B" beside it.

If you think that you do not often behave in that way, but you sometimes do, write "C" beside it.

If you think that you hardly ever behave in that way, and that the statement is not at all a good description of you, write "D" beside it.

Be honest with yourself, this set of questions is only for your use, and you can only improve yourself if you know yourself.

1. I am persistent, once I start something I keep working at it until it is finished	.............
2. Whenever I see an opportunity to do something which will help me to achieve my objectives, I seize it at once	.............
3. I treat as opportunities the kinds of situations that other people regard as problems	.............
4. I am happy to take risks so long as I have thought about a situation and I know what is involved	.............
5. I work hard to obtain all the information I need	.............
6. I try to do everything I do as efficiently as I can	.............
7. I try to reach the highest quality standards in everything I do	.............
8. I am good at persuading people to do what I want them to do	.............
9. I influence people indirectly, by approaching them through other people whom I know	.............
10. Whenever I say I will do something, I try my very best to do it as I said I would	.............
11. I consciously set goals for myself	.............
12. I plan ahead carefully, and think about how successfully I am following my plans	.............
13. If I fail, I am not discouraged, I start something else	.............
14. I prefer to invest my time and money for future benefits, rather than to enjoy myself today	.............
15. I do not care much what other people think about me so long as I am doing what I believe to be right	.............
16. I am enthusiastic and whole-hearted about whatever I do	.............
17. I am always confident that I shall succeed in whatever I try to do	.............

Now look very carefully at the items you have marked with a C or a D.

How can you change yourself so that you can change them into B or A ?

What about the ones where you have written A or B ?

How can you exploit these strengths, and compensate for the weaknesses?

Personal Selling

Objective:	To enable participants to obtain orders from customers in face-to-face selling situations.
Duration:	90 to 120 minutes

Session Guide:

1. To prepare this session you need a cassette recorder, a cassette and two or at least one person in addition to yourself to tape the dialogues.

If you don't have a recorder at your disposition, ask three participants to play the roles of David, Mary and Kate. Make sure that they get copies of the dialogues at least two days before the session.

2. Ask participants to recall the last time they bought something, whether it was an important purchase or something as insignificant as a cup of tea.

When they actually made the decision, were they on their own or was another person involved, who SOLD them the item?

In almost every purchase decision, the final and the most important part of the marketing process is the personal selling task. This is even more important for the new and small business than for the large corporation whose sales representatives are backed by advertising, a well-known brand and so on.

3. Tell participants that they are about hear a recording of a sales call by a lady trying to sell dresses to a shop. They should listen carefully and note down every mistake they notice that the lady makes.

4. Play the tape, and if necessary repeat it. Ask a participant to describe the first mistake she heard, and carry on through the dialogue, eliciting at least the following sales errors:

· she forgot the name of the buyer on whom she was calling
· she had no clear objective for the call, and implied that it was not important
· she talked about the way in which the product was produced, not its sales advantages,
· she was "production oriented" not "marketing oriented"
· she implied that her own earlier products were no good
· she did not have full information on her own sales to that customer
· she only had one type of design, and would not offer anything else
· she had no samples - she criticised what the buyer already had in stock
· she was not well-informed about the customer's business
· she offered large discounts as the main sales inducement
· she blamed the suppliers and her own employee, rather than taking responsibility herself
· she was ignorant about her product
· she allowed herself to be put off and made no attempt to "close".

5. Ask participants to recall similar instances when they have made the same mistakes, or others; discuss these, and elicit a list of guidelines for positive action when selling, as the opposites of the mistakes made by Mary.

6. Tell participants they are now to hear a tape of Kate selling to the same man. In this case, the tape will be stopped each time Mr. David makes an objection, and participants will have to suggest how they would respond.

7. Play through the second dialogue, stopping the tape at each "pause"; invite participants to suggest their own answers; then play the next stage, and so on.

8. Ask participants to mention other objections which buyers have brought forward to their products; invite others to suggest how these might be overcome, and remind participants that one mark of an entrepreneur is that she treats problems, such as customer objections, as opportunities.

Tape Dialogue 1 - Selling Jam

Mary has bought a new oven and employed a girl to help her make a new range of jam; now she has called on Mr. David, the chief buyer in Luckys, a department store in town:

Mary:

Good afternoon, Mr....uh...uh..uh

David:

David is my name.

Mary:

Oh yes, Mr. David, I happened to be in town this afternoon, so I thought I would drop in as I was passing your shop.

David:

Well, it's nice to see you, do sit down. What can I do for you?

Mary:

Well, as I said, I was just passing, and I wondered if you might be interested in buying some of the type of jam I have started making. They are the very special tasting, and I have got one of the new special electric ovens. The new jam will sell much better than the ones you have been buying from me, I am sure of that.

David:

Well, we are always interested in the latest things; can I have a look at the new range?

Mary:

Uh.. Uh.. Uh.. well, I didn't bring any with me, but they are the latest thing, my cousin brought the recipes with her when she came back from London last week.

David:

I see, well I seem to remember that the strawberry jam you sold me a few weeks ago has not sold very well; how many have we bought from you in the last three months? We could certainly do with something that would sell faster.

Mary:

I am not sure what you have been buying, or how many, but 1 can find out from my books this evening when I go home, and let you know.

David:

I see, well, tell me a bit more about the new range of jam, for instance, what fruits do you use, and what are the prices?

Mary:

I only do pineapple jam, that is what people like, and the selling price is about 50 Kwacha each. I am sure you will agree that is good value when you see and taste them.

David:

What, that is far too much! Look, this jam sells for 40 Kwacha, and lots of our customers say that is too much even.

Mary:

My jam is much better than that rubbish, and I am sure that with all your branches you could sell lots and lots of it.

David:

Actually, we only have one branch, this one in fact.

Mary:

Oh, I must have been thinking of that other company, with all those modern branches in every town, but you need not worry about the price, I can give you a very good discount, maybe ten or twenty per cent off for a decent order.

David:

Well, I could think about it, but what about different fruits? Some of the people who did buy your jam were complaining about it because it goes bad after a short time.

Mary:

That is a problem, I know, so many of these ignorant women do not know how to keep the jam fresh, and the farmer did not always deliver fresh fruits. The last helper I had was a bit of a fool, too, she did not always wash her hands, it is so hard to hire sensible people these days.

David:

Yes, common sense is very rare. What do you think of this new tomato jam that everyone is asking for, have you tried it?

Mary:

Oh, I don't know anything about that.

David:

I see. Well, it has been nice talking to you, please come in again when you have something new to show me.

Mary:

Thank you, I shall do my best. Good bye, Mr. uh...uh...uh..

Tape Dialogue 2 - Selling Cake

Kate has just started making a new range of cakes, and has called on Mr. David.

Kate:

Good afternoon, Mr. David, I called to show you the new range of cakes I have just introduced.

David:

I am sorry, it is good of you to call in, but I am very busy and we are really quite happy with our present suppliers of cakes.

pause

Kate:

I am pleased to hear that, you do have a very attractive display; price, quality, deliveries, they are all perfect, exactly as you ask are they?

David:

Well, I am not sure we always get them exactly when we want them, but really, you are wasting your time; look at the shelves, full of cakes.

pause

Kate:

It is a good range, excellently displayed if I may say. But have your customers seen the new type of cakes, nicely decorated? I only use fresh ingredients and best quality fruits.

David:

No, I have not come across those; can you show me a sample?

Kate:

Yes, of course, here are three different kinds, and I can offer even other tastes.

David:

They are nice, but I suppose they are very expensive too. What do they cost, anyway?

Kate:

The cost is 50 kwacha each.

David:

What, that is far too much! Our present range average about 30 kwacha, and many of our customers complain about that!

pause

Kate:

These fresh cakes really are something different, and I am sure that your class of customers are not only looking for the cheapest things.

David:

Well, we try to offer the best and most fresh cakes in town, but 50 kwacha is a bit much, how about a trial order for a dozen at 40 kwacha?

pause

Kate:

No, Mr. David, I am confident that people will be willing to pay extra for a product of this quality, and I operate on a fixed price basis. My prices are fair, and I keep to them.

David:

That does make life easier for us too, but these really are a novelty; how can we expect to sell something like this which people have never tasted before, if they do notice the cakes in the shop they will not realise that they are made with high quality ingredients.

pause

Kate:

Yes, it is difficult, and that is why I made the poster which explains the high quality of my products. I could let you have several copies of this, along with a couple of samples so that your customers can taste the cakes themselves.

David:

That's a good idea, but I know what will happen, it is always the same with you women. If the goods sell, we shall not be able to get any more quickly enough, and I daren't order a large quantity without a trial.

pause

Kate:

Do not prejudge me; how about that trial order of a dozen you mentioned earlier, and if they go well I can guarantee a further dozen at least twice a week, so long as we have two days notice.

David:

Well, if you could keep to that it would be fine, but look at the time, I really must get back to work. Could you come back next week sometime, so we can talk this over properly?

pause

Kate:

I have a full programme next week, and I am sure you want to be among the first to offer these cakes. Make a trial order, and you will be on to a really profitable line.

David:

It is tempting, but we just have not got the cash right now, how about letting us have them on sale on return, we will pay when we sell them?

pause

Kate:

I am sorry, Mr. David, my terms, like my prices, are fair and firm. Cash on delivery, like I do for everyone.

David:

You are a hard bargainer, but the manager really has to approve purchases of new lines, you know; could you come back and see him tomorrow morning?

pause

Kate:

Mr. David, I know you really run this shop, and you do a good job too. To your customers, these are something new and exciting, and to your shop they will be a new profit earner, but they are still cakes, not a new line. Look, let me write out the order on my pad, do you want one of each kind, or two of each of the larger ones, or two of each of the smaller ones?

David:

Uh..uh..I am not really sure, but wait a minute, I shall sell a dozen in an afternoon; what about two dozen, so I can have two of each?

pause

Kate:

Well, I do have other commitments, but I can manage twenty four for tomorrow afternoon, I shall deliver them myself, along with the posters; shall I come at three thirty or at two?

David:

Come at two, and maybe I can talk about another order if you come the next afternoon, when we see how they have sold.

Kate:

Thank you very much, I shall be here promptly at two tomorrow, and if you like I can have a chat with your sales staff so that they can recommend the cakes to their customers.

David:

By all means, thank you, and good afternoon.

Kate:

Thank you, too. Good bye, Mr. David.

HANDOUT 1: SOME TIPS ON PERSONAL SELLING

Personal face-to-face selling is the "cutting edge" of marketing, make sure it cuts where and how you want it:

· prepare for each sales call, have an objective, and know all about the customer and his business with you

· make your customer feel important, build her up, do not criticise the competitor's products she has bought before, she decided to buy them, and "the customer is always right"

· be marketing oriented, not production oriented, talk about the benefits of the product to your customer, and to her customers if she is going to re-sell your goods, not about how clever you are to produce the goods

· offer what the customer wants, not what you find easy to provide

· always know all about your product, and carry samples if you can

· sell on quality; price reductions imply that you were asking too much at the beginning, and that your quality is not good

· take responsibility yourself when things go wrong, don't blame your suppliers, your staff or your customers

· listen to the customer, elicit her objections, and deal with them

· do all you can to CLOSE the sale, do not take "no" for an answer.

Marketing Simulation Exercise

Objective:	To reinforce the understanding of different factors (price, quality, promotion) that influence the market of a given product and determine the possible market share.
Duration:	2 hours