Nineteen participants drawn from Regional AGP Program Coordination Units (RPCUs), four Zonal and woreda AGP Coordination Units; cooperative experts and regional and zonal CDSF staff participated in the workshop. Meskerem Mulatu, National CDSF Gender and Nutrition Specialist and Berihun Gobie, Regional CDSF Capacity Development Specialist facilitated the workshop
The Business Guidebook supports CIGs on how to choose a business idea, how to conduct a feasibility study, develop a business plan and manage their business effectively. During the workshop, data collection tools were introduced to gather feedback from users of the Guidebook on the relevance and usefulness of the content.
Participants appreciated the work of CDSF and described the workshop as useful and suggested the Business Guidebook should provide a rich resource to address the needs and priorities of women and youth CIGs as well as Cooperative Development Agents who support the CIGs. Participants pointed out that providing capacity development support for CIGs through training and provision of materials such as the Business Guidebook is key to the success of the CIGs ensuring the sustainability and profitability of their businesses.