BPN - What we do

Promoting small businesses. For lasting bridges between Swiss know-how and local development

BPN briefly explained:

BPN

The BPN (Business Professionals Network) Foundation, based in Switzerland, has been active since 1999 and operates in 5 countries: Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nicaragua and Rwanda.

We support small and medium scale entrepreneurs in our partner countries with the aim of securing and creating jobs in the long term and thus contributing to local economic development.

Our values

Our actions promote peace, prosperity and stability. Respect and love for fellow human beings, coupled with integrity, moderation, diligence, responsibility and honesty, lead to long-term personal and corporate success.

In internal and external communications, we are honest and careful in everything we say and write. We are committed to a good working atmosphere and maintain trusting relationships with supporters, BPN program participants, media and authorities.

We want to treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. BPN respects the independence of the supported entrepreneurs as well as their cultural and religious environment.

We define goals and strategies and communicate them transparently.

We respect the independence of the enterprises we support.

We take care in the use of our
resources. We guide to take responsibility for the environment and put these interests before short-term self-interest.

We act with integrity in our internal and external relationships.

Engagement

Our actions promote peace, prosperity and stability. We live respect and love towards our fellow human beings. Integrity, commitment, responsibility and honesty lead to success in the long term.

Trust

We are honest and careful in our communication. We are committed to a good working atmosphere and maintain trusting relationships with supporters, BPN program participants, media and authorities.

Respect

We want to treat others as we would like to be treated ("Golden Rule"). BPN respects the self-determination of entrepreneurs regardless of their culture and religion.

Goals

We define strategies and measurable goals and communicate them transparently.

Ownership

For us, help for self-help means that what is learned is implemented on one's own responsibility.

 

Sustainability

We take care in the use of our
resources. We guide to take responsibility for the environment and put it before short-term self-benefit.

3 pillars for sustainable success

Based on our values, BPN uses the 3-pillar principle to help small businesses in developing and emerging countries to grow and create new jobs.

Development

The BPN program lasts 2 years and includes all the central modules of corporate management in differentiated training blocks. However, the program is not limited to the mere transfer of knowledge, but aims to bring about a change in behaviour from which the participants can benefit in the long term. Existing structures in the companies are to be strengthened in the local context.

We often stay in contact with the entrepreneurs even after they have successfully completed the program and continue to support their development if desired. Numerous success stories show the developments that entrepreneurs go through and the results that can arise from them. Here you can find some video portraits of such developments:

https://bpn.ch/videos/

Coaching

Entrepreneurs go through different phases in their development. Therefore BPN adapts the coaching individually to the needs and the stage of development of the entrepreneur.

For this purpose BPN offers 2 different types of consulting: Technical Advisory (expert advice) and Executive Coaching. The coaching is integrated into the various interactions with the entrepreneurs during the BPN program. In this way, a close relationship is built with the participants.

However, BPN coaching is not only an effective support for the duration of the BPN program, but is also a proven instrument for getting to know each other and also for the necessary selection process even before the program begins.

Entrepreneurs' Association

BPN supports local entrepreneurs in setting up an entrepreneurial association.

This serves the exchange of experiences and takes care of economic and social concerns of other SMEs in the country. BPN promotes the formation of these networks with know-how, motivation, content and organisational support.

Members of the association (BPN alumni) also receive a loan on fair terms (usually between CHF 2,000 and 20,000) for the purchase of production machinery or additional equipment if there is a proven need.

Training

The participants usually have technical/industry knowledge. However, they often lack knowledge of business contexts. For this reason, BPN has developed a training programme that includes seminars, webinars, workshops and time for exchange.

Topics include project and time management, financial planning and control, law, leadership and human resources development. In addition, supplementary seminars on specific topics such as social media, customer care, etc. are always offered. The seminars, webinars, workshops etc. are conducted locally by our Country Directors and local BPN staff.

The BPN program lasts 2 years and includes all central modules of business administration in differentiated training blocks.

Program duration
Structure of the seminars

The training programs are not free of charge - the participants make a contribution, albeit a moderate one, for the seminars.

Success in numbers

The success shows: On average, companies are able to double the number of jobs during the BPN program, create higher quality jobs and increase their value added.

More successes in numbers and stories can be found in our > Impact Report.

Figures refer to all BPN partner countries since inception.

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Workshops & Seminars held
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supported entrepreneurs
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supported jobs

BPN from the perspective of donor & entrepreneur

Werner Berner is a long-time BPN supporter

Ritah was a program participant in Rwanda and makes children's toys

SMES: THE EFFECTIVE RECIPE FOR
PROSPERITY - WORLDWIDE

Experiences, the attitude to life, a clear idea, conviction and perseverance: All these aspects preceded the founding of the Business Professionals Network. Just like the awareness that a serious voluntary activity demands an enormous amount - but also gives back an enormous amount.

Jürg Opprecht
*May 9, 1950; † July 13, 2021

Jürg Opprecht founded the BPN Foundation in 1999. What moved and drove him in the process can be read here in his own words.

" When I visited Kyrgyzstan for the first time in 1997, under the impression of omnipresent hardship and unemployment, the desire to help these people arose in me. But how? Donations too often get bogged down in bureaucracy. Too little ultimately gets to where it is really needed..."

So there had to be a better way. As an entrepreneur, I focus on profitability and sustainability. Both arise from individual responsibility - based on initiative, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. This gave rise to the idea of launching a lean organization with flat hierarchies that would act as a bridge-builder , "exporting" something of the powerhouse of Switzerland as a success model - and that is undoubtedly the SMEs . Now, more than 25 years after the birth of the BPN idea, we know that this model works very well.

With the support of hundreds of Swiss personalities and executives from small and large companies, as well as our enthusiastic teams in Switzerland and the countries of operation, we "produce" help for self-help on a daily and hundredfold basis according to the 4-pillar principle.

BPN turns motivated and talented craftsmen and tradesmen into entrepreneurs, who in turn have created and continue to create tens of thousands of solid jobs. In this way, we stand for an economy that encourages further thinking - beyond the narrow confines of everyday professional life.

We are extremely grateful for this lasting and truly fulfilling success, because we give a lot - and we also get a lot back. I invite you: "Surf" through our website, get informed and inspired, get in touch with us and become part of the Business Professionals Network - it ' s worth it !

Thank you very much!"

Supporting entrepreneurs with BPN is simple and straightforward.