Community-Based Enterprise Development is an ILO activity-based learning programme that have been used by over 60 organizations in 14 countries and is targeted at young people to learn entrepreneurial skills. The ILO organised an international talk bringing together young participants from across Asia and the Pacific to share their experiences and build community in entrepreneurial spirit.

To celebrate World Entrepreneurs’ Day on the 21st of August 2021, the ILO organized the first regional event bringing together young participants from the Community-Based Enterprise Development (C-BED) programme. The virtual event included youth, coordinators and ILO officials from four countries who shared their experiences and future hopes for entrepreneurship.

So far, the C-BED programme, as part of the ILO activity-based learning tools, has been implemented in over 60 organizations across 14 countries. The training modules are specifically targeted at underserved communities, including young people and women in rural settings.

The webinar was the first ever regional event that brought participants together from different countries, as they were able to share different contexts and experiences from the training programme as well as build a cross-country community built on entrepreneurial spirit.

The event included presentations from Japan, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Fiji where they shared their country contexts, how they found the training and its relevancy to their future entrepreneurial careers. Throughout the speeches, it became clear that C-BED was a flexible and timely programme that helps young people stay motivated and learn new skills during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sokuntararith Tum, a C-BED participant from Cambodia, expressed how ‘participating in the Community-Based Enterprise Development training has inspired me to achieve bigger goals in hopes of contributing towards Cambodia’s economic growth, especially in new sectors such as technology and digital innovation’.

The session was followed by an interactive Q&A session where attendants asked questions related more broadly to activity-based learning, youth entrepreneurship and implementing C-BED during uncertain times.

In concluding remarks, ILO officials from Japan, Bangladesh, Fiji and coordination from Thailand shared their appreciation for young participants staying inspired and adaptive during COVID-19. Akira Kawasaki, Enterprise Development Officer said, “I hope this event created a sense of connectivity to the global network of C-BED community. I could see C-BED had very positive impacts on each of participants. I hope the impacts will spread more broadly with further expansion of C-BED programme.”

At a time of pandemic restrictions and isolation, the virtual session proved to be successful in reiterating the power of community, especially for young people who are starting out their careers.

To find out more about ILO’s Activity-Based Learning tools and access Community-Based Enterprise Development training modules, check out the ILO Peer Learning Hub.