The purpose of this study was to examine the outcome of a Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) training and development program on women entrepreneurs’ performance coordinated by the Women’s Bureau (WB) in The Gambia. With reference to Kirkpatrick’s four-level evaluation model, it investigated whether the training met the needs of women entrepreneurs, if there were any improvement on their knowledge and skills and whether any significant changes to their business performance were made. Even though a lot of resources were spent on this training program, evaluation was not conducted to find out the outcome of the training. Yet assessing the outcome of costly training efforts is vital to the success of any program. Thus, the purpose of this research was to find out the outcome of the training on women entrepreneurs’ performance in terms of changes in behavior, business performance and the outcome of the performance. A qualitative approach was used to collect data from four senior officers of WB, four trainers from three training institutes who were the training providers, and four women beneficiaries of the training. The interview questions were adopted and further improved to enhance their validity and reliability. First, the interview questions were sent by email to participants and all responses were received from participants. In addition to their responses, a follow up interview was further conducted on Skype. The interview was recorded and later compared with responses sent via electronic email. The results show that training needs were met as well as their business skills significantly enhanced. Trainees acknowledged the improvement of their business behaviors, which impacted positively on their business in terms of higher income and business expansion. However, the interviewees identified some bottlenecks and made suggestions based on the challenges.

The purpose of this study was to examine the outcome of a Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) training and development program on women entrepreneurs’ performance coordinated by the Women’s Bureau (WB) in The Gambia. With reference to Kirkpatrick’s four-level evaluation model, it investigated whether the training met the needs of women entrepreneurs, if there were any improvement on their knowledge and skills and whether any significant changes to their business performance were made. Even though a lot of resources were spent on this training program, evaluation was not conducted to find out the outcome of the training. Yet assessing the outcome of costly training efforts is vital to the success of any program. Thus, the purpose of this research was to find out the outcome of the training on women entrepreneurs’ performance in terms of changes in behavior, business performance and the outcome of the performance. A qualitative approach was used to collect data from four senior officers of WB, four trainers from three training institutes who were the training providers, and four women beneficiaries of the training. The interview questions were adopted and further improved to enhance their validity and reliability. First, the interview questions were sent by email to participants and all responses were received from participants. In addition to their responses, a follow up interview was further conducted on Skype. The interview was recorded and later compared with responses sent via electronic email. The results show that training needs were met as well as their business skills significantly enhanced. Trainees acknowledged the improvement of their business behaviors, which impacted positively on their business in terms of higher income and business expansion. However, the interviewees identified some bottlenecks and made suggestions based on the challenges.

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