Skills Training and Business Outcomes: Experimental Evidence from Liberia

Abstract

This paper explores whether skills training in business performance and customer practices was a promising way to increase business outcomes among self-employed workers who operate small businesses in developing countries. We randomized training in business-management skills and business and inter-personal skills among BRAC’s Small Enterprise Programme firm owners in Liberia. We found that firm owners who received either training experienced an increase in attention to customers, which consequently enhanced the performance of the businesses, including higher average monthly revenue, less loss of customers, and a smaller likelihood of encountering business losses. Customers, however, reported no effect on their customer experiences.