YSMEs 25 Project

In 2018, the Yemeni Institute of Directors, in cooperation with the International Finance Corporation, implemented the 25 YSMEs project for the governance of 25 small and medium companies. The areas of administrative, organizational, strategic, financial, and legal governance work continuously and permanently to develop and attract the latest tools in corporate and banking governance, which makes the team at the highest level of efficiency and readiness to meet the tasks required of it, as the project made the institute and its team able to absorb and understand the nature and privacy of various types of companies Banks and provide support to boards of directors to improve their performance and enhance their competitive position.

It is considered the first project in Yemen for the governance of small and medium companies in cooperation with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), where 46 companies were submitted, and 25 small and medium companies were selected according to the project criteria. For several administrative, financial, legal, and strategic aspects aimed at supporting and developing small and medium-sized companies and applying the principle of governance to achieve the benefit of governance at the level of the company’s reputation, expansion and strengthening its competitive position and serve as an example for other companies. The project was completed by launching a group of Yemeni companies that started in the field of governance, which enables her to get any financing opportunity.

Why a project?

To meet the common challenges of small and medium enterprises in:

1. Weak institutional building.
2. Poor communication capabilities with banks and financing channels.
3. The difficulty of communicating with potential investors locally and internationally.
4. The lack of guidance and support institutions for small and medium-sized companies.
5. To help SMEs transition to large enterprises which is a crucial stage in the life of SMEs that hinders progress globally.
6. To promote the principle of sustainability and succession in SMEs.

Project Objectives: The overall objective is to improve, enhance and apply governance practices in small and medium-sized companies in Yemen.

Expected results of the project:

1. 80% of companies are fully aware of the importance of governance.
2. The trained companies have access to auxiliary tools for implementing and practicing governance.
3. 15% of the targeted companies have a systematic framework for governance.

Phase one activities:

1. Build a project team structure.
2. Project announcement.
3. Interviews: 36 field interviews were carried out for the companies joining the project by the project committee and the implementation of a SWOT analysis so that the institute could know the training needs and requirements and provide advice to the companies that will join the project.
4. Launching the project and starting the first training program, which is the governance of small and medium companies, for two days with a total of 16 training hours. The program concluded by writing a draft of the internal plans for each company separately to be implemented in the next stages of the project.

Outputs of the first stage: The project team was able to obtain complete information about the companies involved in the project through (gap analysis – SWOT analysis – company file – self-evaluation). The result was the preparation of the first draft of the corporate governance action plan for each company separately to work on in the stage second of the project.

The activities of the second phase of the project:

1. Ramadan Iftar: The aim was to strengthen the relationship between the project team and the representatives of the companies involved in the project, as 16 companies attended the Iftar and a clear vision of the next phase of the project has emerged.
2. Field visits for companies: a meeting was held with decision makers within companies to evaluate the plans prepared by the companies in the first phase of the project and modify them to suit the environment and needs of each company separately.
3. ToT-Diagnostic Tool Training for the Project Team: Members of the Project Committee joined the training to highlight the main points implemented in the first phase of the project and focus on the objectives and outputs of the second phase. The training added to the project committee a new experience in SME governance and experience In using the diagnostic tool used in the second phase of the project.
4. Diagnostic Tool training for the companies involved in the project: The training was carried out for three days with a total of 24 training hours, after evaluating the results of the first phase of the project and analyzing all the companies’ documents, we used the diagnostic tool that will be applied to the companies as evidence of the efficiency of the governance plan, which is considered a tangible success for the project.
5. Monitoring and Evaluation: Immediately after a week of the Corporate Diagnostic Tool training, we visited the companies to assess the Governance Plan by the project team and make sure it was workable.
6. Final Action Plan: Each company will prepare its final governance plan to start implementing a set of quick reforms within the company with the help of the project committee team.

Companies involved in the project:

1. Yemen Islamic Bank.
2. Al Sidra General Trading.
3. The National Paper Products Company.
4. Al-Kuraimi Islamic Microfinance Bank.
5. Ibdaa Soft.
6. Al-Ruwaishan Group.
7. Alpha Company Limited.
8. Al-Nasser Exchange Company.
9. Al-Numan Exchange Company.
10. Yemeni and international mass transportation company.
11. Jamaan Trading and Investment Company.
12. Raha Transport Company Ltd.
13. Sweid & Sons Exchange Company.
14. Azm for Training and Consultations.
15. Al-Nibras Group.
16. Al Jazeera Model Schools.
17. Manchester Modern Center for Training and Rehabilitation.
18. University of Science and Technology Hospital.
19. Al-Hadaa Corporation for Trade and General Agencies.
20. Yemen Eye Foundation for Export and Consulting Services.
21. Hashem Hammoud Al-Ashmal Foundation J (Hatko).
22. Nate for Information Technology and Media.
23. Professional Engineering.
24. Man Telecom Solutions for Trade, Services, and Contracting.