The General Assembly of the United Nations declared the 27th of June Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day, in order to raise public awareness of their contribution to sustainable development and the global economy.

Burkina Faso’s economy is marked by the presence of a large number of small and medium enterprises, which contribute significantly to the gross national production. These companies employ a lot of young people and contribute to reducing youth unemployment. However, the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 in Burkina Faso has had adverse effects on businesses in general and on those of small and medium businesses in particular.

HOPE’87, in cooperation with the Austrian Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection,is carrying out the project “Together in the fight against the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic” for the support of SMEs affected by the COVID-19 crisis in the city of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

This project has strengthened the capacities of 100 small and medium enterprises and given them the necessary strength to overcome the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The training sessions are administered by the managers of these 100 companies in order to strengthen their capacities and include training on COVID-19 prevention measures, on management of economic and marketing units, on risk management, on environment, on financing mechanisms and research execution of contracts, on gender as well as on digital marketing.

Take a look at the first batch of 25 micro and small entrepreneurs!