Business Opportunities and Support Services (BOSS)

The present Project will support relevant public and private institutions to deliver need/market-oriented services to entrepreneurs, promote a better coordination and alignment of private sector initiatives and contribute to a “private-sector-sound” rural development strategy. In particular - based upon a systemic approach to enterprise development - the Project intends to tackle the lack of dialogue and coordination between the public and the private sectors; the lack of market access for products and services; the ineffective utilization of local resources / opportunities; the weak managerial and entrepreneurial knowledge and the limited and often ineffective involvement of civil works contractors in Government budget service delivery. In respect to the latter constraint, it is expected that - in the short-medium term - the Project will place a particular focus on improving the capacity of local civil works contractors to enable them to effectively participate in basic infrastructure rehabilitation tenders, issued by both local and central Government. During the four years of implementation, the Institute for Business Support (IADE) and the National Directorate for Rural Development (NDRD) of MED will be progressively enabled to fulfill their mandate of boosting private sector growth and developing the rural economy at the district level. This will be achieved by promoting, designing and implementing programmes that foster MSEs and contractors growth through improved market access, business matchmaking and enhanced provision of business development services and business information. The Project will act as a facilitator, focusing on technical assistance, coordination, networking, and information. By adopting this approach, the Project will develop its counterparts’ capacity to do and deliver, rather than to do and deliver directly. Furthermore, the Project will follow the path set by the other ILO interventions in Timor-Leste, being fully integrated within the institutional counterpart. The Project international expertise will work “directly” with MED officials, constituting an enlarged strong “one-team” and representing a continued institution building resource. This approach will facilitate capacity building through the daily sharing of offices and objectives, and through the mutual and continued exposure that encourages permanent sharing of knowledge and experiences.

Project symbol

TIM/10/02/IRL

Admin unit

CO-Jakarta

Start date

30/09/2010

End date

31/12/2016

Total allocation

7920395

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

7892455

Development Partners

Ireland, Irish Aid

Country/Countries

Timor-Leste

Outcomes

Promoting sustainable enterprises