Good practice
ESIC, Spain ESIC set up a programme which focuses on the tutoring and consolidation of micro and small enterprises and which is addressed to female entrepreneurs which have received micro credit from the savings bank La Caixa. As the programmes’ target is to establish the long term consolidation of new businesses, the consultancy is very intensive and takes about ten months. The service is mainly based on two face-to-face meetings and follow-up support via monthly telephone calls. The programme is financed by the European Social Fund and a governmental agency. The ESIC advice process is structured as follows: 1. Project planning and training of the consultancy team 2. Client visit and company analysis by the consultant 3. Implementation of action plan, follow up and consolidation 4. Evaluation of impact and consultant’s work, telephone survey of the client 5. Closing report, final assessment of the program. For the illustration of the advice methods, ESIC makes use of the following instruments:
- Graphs/spreadsheets to illustrate economic and financial performance
- Regular reports outlining the progress of the current strategies behind the action plan.