The following tasks are carried out by the UNCTAD-EMPRETEC coordination team in Geneva at the international level:
- promotion of networks and contacts among national EMPRETEC programmes
- exchange of information on 'best practices' to each of the country projects
- organization of international EMPRETEC programme meetings
- identification of new trends in business development
- development of new training and consulting modules
- cooperation with specialized agencies and services
- conduction of research on SME and policy-related issues
- dissemination of information on global economic trends
- protection of Empretec's trademark and copyrights.
The following tasks are carried out by the UNCTAD-EMPRETEC coordination team in Geneva at the national level:
- initiation of country programmes
- adaptation of the EMPRETEC concept to national requirements
- promotion of initial fund raising
- identification of local counterpart institutions
- mobilization of local stakeholders
- development of sustainability strategies
- selection and training of local programme staff and trainers
- transfer of methodology
- monitoring progress in project implementation.
As implementing agency, UNCTAD establishes institutional structures and networks in recipient countries which have the capacity to implement the EMPRETEC Programme according to best practice standards. UNCTAD is also responsible for transferring the EMPRETEC concept to the host country with the support of local public and private partners.
Although the implementation of the EMPRETEC programme depends on the country-specific needs of the beneficiary country, the following are the general steps necessary in the implementation of the EMPRETEC programme:
- UNCTAD-EMPRETEC, in cooperation with interested local institutions, selects a partner institution that is capable to to offer their local resources to host the training workshops
- UNCTAD-EMPRETEC will then provide experienced UNCTAD-EMPRETEC Master Trainers who will deliver at least six EMPRETEC Training Workshops (ETW) to 30 participants per workshop on the site of the chosen partner institution.
- After the first ETW, the UNCTAD-EMPRETEC Master Trainers will select EMPRETEC trainer candidates from the ETW participants. The trainer candidates will assist UNCTAD-EMPRETEC Master Trainers in the delivery of the remaining scheduled ETWs until they are fully capable of delivering ETWs on their own and certified by the UNCTAD-EMPRETEC Master Trainers as UNCTAD-EMPRETEC National Trainers.
- In conjunction with the ETWs, UNCTAD-EMPRETEC will work with their local partner(s) to assess the technical business skill needs of local entrepreneurs and address these by providing post-ETW training courses using existing material or creating new modules.
- After transferring the methodology to the new EMPRETEC centre, it is expected that future ETWs will be planned and implemented by the local/regional staff - within the framework of the UNCTAD-EMPRETEC Programme. UNCTAD will continue to provide its expertise and guidance from the UNCTAD-EMPRETEC Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
As a result of the programme, participants will join the network of over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have completed the ETW.