Getting Down to Business! Training in Small Business Skills in Papua New Guinea Student Activities Click on the following links for further information about this case study: Teacher's Notes   Case Study Participants in the Start Your Business/Improve Your Business (SYB/IYB) project must look at the business opportunities in their local community in Papua New Guinea. Undertake an analysis of the number and types of small businesses in your local community. In view of your findings, what types of small businesses could be successfully established in your local area? Why? What types of small businesses would you avoid? Why? Develop and create a pamphlet for community distribution in the four regions of Papua New Guinea which advertises the SYB/IYB program. Outline what the benefits of such a program could be for participants. Draw a diagram of the economic and personal factors anyone in Papua New Guinea would need to consider if they were to establish and maintain a small business. Colour code these as major and minor factors. Share diagrams within the class. What do you agree are the major factors in establishing a small business? In pairs, select one of the following small businesses which might be possible for a participant to establish in a town in rural Papua New Guinea: shoe-making, car repairs, tailoring, grocery/small goods shop, hairdressing salon and restaurant/cafe. Develop a series of questions you would ask the participant to ensure they have the skills and capacity to establish and develop this particular business. In small groups, discuss how the Australian Government's overseas aid program could go about evaluating the success of the SYB/IYB training in PNG. What type of data would you collect? Would you use surveys, interviews etc? What period of time would you allow from completion of the training to evaluation? Present your approach to the class as a proposal and your reasons for selecting this approach. Work in pairs to create and develop a role-play that could be used in the SYB/IYB training. The role-play is to centre on an interview between bank personnel in charge of small loans and a participant who has completed the SYB/IYB training and wishes to apply for a loan for the business. Decide on the type of business the person wishes to establish and the necessary details needed for the role-play; Decide on the variety of questions that the Bank Loans Officer is likely to ask the applicant and how the applicant will respond to those questions. What are the possible advantages and disadvantages of using a model in this program of developing local trainers in Papua New Guinea to train others in establishing and developing their own small businesses? At the end of the ten-day SYB/IYB workshops, each participant must present a 'Business Plan'. What would you suggest should be part of the business plan? In pairs, develop an 'Activity Worksheet', which could be used in the SYB/IYB program that helps participants to examine either: what they need to know about their competitors in the same business or how they might promote and market their own business. The worksheet could include questions as well as tips and advice. Contact your nearest Chamber of Commerce or the Australian Small Business Association to find information about the incentives available in your state to begin a small business. If possible invite a member of either of these organisations to speak to the class about current issues facing small businesses. How might these issues compare with those in Papua New Guinea?   Top © Commonwealth of Australia