Unleashing Entrepreneurship
Believe Begin Become is a Business Plan Competition developed by TechnoServe to support and grow new businesses. It is an incentivized, practical training and business development program to help entrepreneurs turn their business ideas into fundable and implementable business plans.  

Over the past four years TechnoServe has run 9 national business competitions in Central America, and last year brought the BPC to Africa in Ghana and Swaziland. Since 2002 TechnoServe’s BPCs have helped launch or expand 205 businesses that have generated over $10 million in additional revenues and created more than 1200 new jobs.  

The approach catalyzes the creation and expansion of profitable and competitive small and medium-scale (SME) enterprises—a vital engine of growth, jobs and income in the developing world. BPCs also create a vehicle for local financial institutions to provide access to capital, and build momentum for SME development, spurring governments into action. 

Partners and sponsors
These programs, although locally branded to maximize visibility and impact, collaborate extensively with local and regional businesses and partner with international corporations and foundations. Professional mentorships and corporate partnerships are integral to the success of the competitions. Current Key multi-country sponsors include: 

Program objectives:
• Support entrepreneurs to create scaleable and sustainable businesses through training and mentoring 

• Catalyze networks integrating the public, private and NGO communities to create a business environment supportive of SME development 

• Facilitate linkages between entrepreneurs and financial service providers to stimulate business growth

Key components:
• Private sector support and involvement 

• Skill-building through training, mentoring and technical assistance 

• Local support network-building for small and medium-sized enterprises 

• Brokering access to finance and venture capital

Examples of some key achievements:
• By the end of 2006, the first 3 El Salvador programs  had  returned  nearly  $9 in incremental SME revenues for every dollar spent on the competitions 

• The first 3 El Salvador Business Plan Competitions have created or expanded 159 businesses generating  nearly  $16  million in cumulative incremental revenues

• For the 2007 Guatemala program, the Ministry of Agriculture -- through the financing entity "Dacredito" -- has agreed to provide loan guarantees to 20 entrepreneurs.

About TechnoServe:
TechnoServe helps entrepreneurial men and women in the developing world to build businesses that provide jobs, income and economic opportunity. Since its founding in 1968, the U.S.-based nonprofit has helped to create or expand more than 2,000 businesses, benefiting millions of people in more than 30 countries. TechnoServe has been recognized as one of the world's "Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs"
by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. In 2007, Charity Navigator also once again awarded its highest Four Star ranking to TechnoServe.