Active labour market measures
Measures to assist the unemployed and others to participate in the labour market. These measures typically include job brokering (matching vacancies and job seekers), training (to upgrade and adapt the skills of job applicants), and direct job creation (either public-sector employment or subsidisation of private-sector work).
Business counselling
type of business development service that provides professional advice. A common approach is to offer business counselling services as part of integrated support schemes and make business counselling a condition for receiving financial support.
Business development services
These are services that aim to improve the performance of the enterprise by improving its ability to compete and access markets. Support services typically include training, mentoring, coaching, consultancy, marketing assistance, information, technology development and transfer assistance and networking. Both strategic (medium to long-term issues that improve performance) and operational (day-to-day) issues are included.
Business incubators
Facilities designed to support the creation and growth of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services, offered both directly in the incubator and through its network of contacts. Incubators vary in the way they deliver their services, in their organisational structure, and in the types of clients they serve. While virtual/online incubators exist, most programmes host start-up companies on their premises for a limited period of time. Successful completion of a business incubation programme increases the likelihood that a start-up company will survive and grow.
Coaching
A typically short-term relationship aimed at developing the skills of an entrepreneur. It is a collaborative process in which the participants have clearly defined roles. The coach is responsible for developing short-term goals and guiding the coachee towards the goals by providing constructive feedback. The coachee is responsible for generating ideas and options, taking action to achieve the goal, and reporting progress.
Deadweight loss
The extent to which participants would have set up a new business without the subsidy. Since behaviour of these “deadweight participants” is unaffected by the scheme, their participation does not contribute to the economic value generated by the scheme but involves a public outlay. The social cost of this outlay is the sum of the distortionary cost or excess burden of the tax that finances it.
Displacement
The extent to which subsidised businesses take business from and displace employment in unsubsidised business.
Entrepreneurship skills
A combination of technical skills, business management skills and personal skills required for starting and operating in business and self-employment. For example, they include team building, negotiation, strategy development, financial planning, and marketing.
Evaluation
The objective of evaluation is to measure the relevance, impact, effectiveness and efficiency of a programme or policy action. Evaluations can be qualitative, quantitative or a combination of the two. Successful evaluations are planned during the policy design and indicators are collected throughout the implementation to feed into the evaluation. Evaluation should be designed and implemented in ways that provide useful information to decision-makers, given the political circumstances, programme constraints and available resources. Results of evaluation should be used to improve policy design.
Loan guarantees
Commitment by a third party to cover part of the losses related to a loan default. It can be provided by the government and/or or by a private business association. It is backed up by a fund acting as collateral.
Mentoring
A professional relationship in which an experienced person (the mentor) assists another (the mentee) in developing skills and knowledge that will enhance the less-experienced person’s professional and personal growth. These relationships are typically more long-term than the coaching relationship.
Outreach
A systematic attempt to provide services beyond conventional limits to reach particular segments of a community. Outreach services can be employed to raise the profile of (more mainstream) services and inform people of the provision. Outreach services can also be used to reach and engage specific groups and those who do not tend to use mainstream services. One approach is to deliver services in locations where people from the target communities already go (e.g. community centres, youth centres, places of worship, shopping centres) rather than establishing an outreach office and attempting to attract people to it.
Role models
An experienced entrepreneur who can inspire others to business start-up or self-employment activities.
Serial entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs who successively start businesses and sell them while they are young rather than operating a business over its full life cycle.
Social capital
The value of social networks, involving the family, friends, colleagues, and business and personal contacts through which opportunities are received. In entrepreneurship, social capital provides access to knowledge, networks of clients, suppliers and professional support, and can therefore increase an individual’s chances of business success.
