Women Entrepreneurs Drive a New Business Future in Yemen

The programme uses the Improve Your Business package from the ILO’s globally recognised Start and Improve Your Business programme, widely known as SIYB.

Fifty business owners in Yemen's southwestern Taiz Governorate are gaining practical skills to strengthen their enterprises, protect existing jobs and create new employment opportunities through an entrepreneurship programme led by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Taiz. The initiative supports entrepreneurs who already run businesses and want to improve their operations, while preparing national trainers who can continue helping small enterprises across the country.

The programme uses the Improve Your Business package from the ILO's globally recognised Start and Improve Your Business programme, widely known as SIYB. Participants are learning how to examine their business performance, solve operational problems, manage finances, reach customers and prepare realistic improvement plans suited to Yemen's difficult economic conditions.

Women Take a Leading Role in Taiz

Women make up around 70 to 80 per cent of the participating entrepreneurs and 80 per cent of the trainers, giving them a central place in an initiative that connects business development with wider economic participation. Their strong presence reflects growing interest among Yemeni women in building sustainable enterprises, generating household income and contributing to local employment despite the pressures created by years of crisis.

Arwa Alomari, a member of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Taiz, welcomed the partnership and highlighted the ILO's continuing support for business development and women's entrepreneurship. She also recognised earlier work to develop entrepreneurship training materials that respond more closely to the experiences and needs of women running businesses.

Supporting female entrepreneurs can create benefits far beyond individual enterprises, since stronger women-led businesses often provide income for families, offer services within local communities and open employment pathways for others. The programme gives participants a space to exchange experiences, examine common challenges and identify practical changes they can introduce without waiting for large investments.

Business Lessons Move Beyond the Classroom

Every participating entrepreneur operates a business and has improvement plans, which allows the training to focus on real enterprises instead of theoretical ideas. Business owners will receive structured coaching and mentoring as they apply the IYB tools, turning what they learn during training sessions into detailed plans for stronger management, better performance and greater resilience.

Participants are reviewing their own business plans, discussing what has worked and identifying areas that require attention. This practical process can help owners understand costs more clearly, organise daily operations, improve customer relationships and make decisions that support steady growth in an unpredictable market.

The learning experience will continue after the classroom sessions, with coaching designed to help entrepreneurs put their plans into action. This extended support is important because many small businesses need guidance while adapting new management practices, especially when economic disruption, limited access to finance and uncertain demand can make even simple changes difficult.

National Trainers Can Extend the Programme's Reach

The initiative is also developing a stronger network of Yemeni entrepreneurship trainers. Candidate SIYB trainers will demonstrate their abilities, improve their methods and receive supervision from SIYB Master Trainers, creating a pool of qualified professionals who can deliver high-quality business support in other communities.

Samar Al-Sakkaf, an SIYB trainer, described the programme as an opportunity for trainers, Master Trainers and business owners to openly discuss which approaches succeed, which fall short and how entrepreneurship services can respond more effectively to conditions faced by Yemeni enterprises. These conversations can make future training more relevant by connecting established business tools with local knowledge and experience.

Building national training capacity gives the initiative value beyond its current group of 50 entrepreneurs. Skilled local trainers can reach more business owners, strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises and support job creation during a period when communities urgently need stable sources of income.

By bringing practical business coaching and trainer development together, the ILO and the Taiz Chamber are helping create an entrepreneurship support system that can grow from within Yemen. Stronger enterprises, capable trainers and greater participation by women could give local economies a firmer foundation for recovery while helping families build more secure livelihoods.