Training micro-entrepreneurs from Tripoli in Lebanon and Deir Ez Zor in Syria 

The European Institute for Cooperation and Development (EICD), a French non-profit organization, seeks to give men and women in the Southern hemisphere the resources they need to become leaders in the development of their country.

To this end, the EICD calls on local partners to:

• Set up and develop technical and professional training centers that meet the local skilled labor needs of businesses.
• Build on the entrepreneurial capacities of self-employed promoters and artisans by offering adapted non-financial services.

Very small businesses, those that employ no more than five people, represent more than 80% of all job opportunities in the Deir Ez-Zor region in Syria and around Tripoli in Lebanon. This sector holds the key to fighting against poverty, but its growth potential is fragile and insufficiently exploited. This is why the EICD has devised a special training program for micro-entrepreneurs.

The Air Liquide Foundation has agreed to participate in the creation and the development of training centers in Deir Ez-Zor and in Tripoli. Based on teaching methods that are adapted to their business and on personalized support, the training allows entrepreneurs to learn how to use management tools that are adapted to their specific needs: cash management books, business management systems, marketing plans, tax planning, etc.

So far, a total of 120 entrepreneurs have been able to take advantage of this one-of-a-kind support, acquiring the skills they need to develop their business and, at the same time, their local communities.