How can women cooperatives, associations and groups run a business not only from a technical perspective, but also from a business perspective? How can they ensure that their business is profitable, financially viable, and sustainable? 

Funded by the Government of Canada, FAO in collaboration with the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture provided women cooperatives, associations and informal groups, training on business management. Five hundred seventy-seven (577) women and forty-four (44) men from two hundred sixty-one (261) cooperatives and women groups attended twenty- two (22) online sessions on topics such as: business idea development, situational analysis, market analysis, operational planning, financial planning, financial statement, risk management, environmental and social responsibility, monitoring and action plan development.

Based on these series of training, participants will develop their business plans in the agri-food sector with the help of trained facilitators. Around 150 business plans will be selected and will receive further support through cash grants, labor vouchers, and linkages to markets. 

The online sessions fall under the Cooperative Business Schools (CBS) which is a specialized training concept developed by FAO to strengthen the capacities of the women cooperatives, associations and women groups and help them acquire entrepreneurial and management knowledge and skills needed to develop profitable businesses. The concept shifts the focus from production to better farm management and profitability. The above activities are part of the Canada-funded FAO project “Support to Women's Cooperatives and Associations in the Agri-food Sector in Lebanon" implemented in coordination with the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture’s General Directorate of Agriculture and General Directorate of Cooperatives.

The project supports 270 women's cooperatives, associations and informal groups through capacity building on gender equality and several soft skills like communication, negotiation, and ethics.

In parallel, the project is developing the capacity of the General Directorate of Cooperatives at the Ministry of Agriculture in order to improve the directorate business processes and thus the services provided to the cooperatives.