Looking for ways to recover from the current economic circumstances?  An investment in local people and local ideas is cost effective and sustainable.  The Sirolli Institute will share principles and practices gathered over 23 years.  Hear first hand from WesTex Allied Communities how the Sirolli Approach has transformed their region.  

Book now!  June 23-25, 2009

Julian Grill, as Minister for Economic Development and Trade, was instrumental in supporting Ernesto Sirolli's initial experiment in Esperance, Western Australia, 1985.

 Enterprise Facilitation®:  Building Local Economies One Business at a Time! Learn more about the sucesses around the world.

 Our first African Enterprise Facilitation project is located in Kamina in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Congratulations on your first successes.

 Capturing the Passion in Portuguese

Enseñando habilidades a una nueva generación de emprendedores. Convencido de que el futuro de cada comunidad reside en capturar la energía, imaginación, inteligencia y pasión de su gente, El Instituto Sirolli ha creado la empresa facilitadora SM; un sistema de desarrollo económico concentrado en la persona, un sistema de desarrollo económico que es rentable, ético y medible. Empresa facilitadora esta basada en dos principios fundamentales:

Convinced that the future of every community lies in capturing the energy, imagination, intelligence, and passion of its people, the Sirolli Institute has created Enterprise Facilitation: a person centered economic development system that is replicable, cost effective, and ethical. 

 Statistics suggest that Sirolli's principle of community empowerment is working.  As the credit crunch batters Scotland like a winter storm Sirolli's success suggests that perhaps there is a climate for enterprise, winging its way from warmer Italian climes.

We need to genuinely respect and support entrepreneurs and let them know they don’t have to do it all. While this sounds pretty elementary, it is surprising how we fail in these two simple areas.

DesMoines, Iowa, August 28, 2001---Anyone who cares about the economic future of Iowa should read "Ripples from the Zambezi: Passion, Entrepreneurship and the Rebirth of Local Economies" by Ernesto Sirolli. It might be the closest thing to an economic cure-all Iowa can find.  

We offer an unscientific hunch: all of us have a better chance of succeeding doing what we love.

Our duty is to return to the world the gifts that have been given us.

The the role of a smart education system should be one of fostering personal success by emphasizing the unique talents that each of us possess.

The greatest achievement of Enterprise Facilitation is the ability to communicate sound management principles to the smallest project and to explain simply and effecitvely what it takes to survive in business.

The Wall Street Journal captures the story of Enterprise Facilitation in Hastings County MN.  

After years of failing miserably in Africa, Ernesto Sirolli challenged himself to find an answer to a very simple question:  "What infrastructure is necessary to allow the maximum number of people to become self-fulfilled, contributing citizens?"  In response, he created a respectful, modest approach to development that has transformed communities around the world - one person at a time.

June 30, 2009, Banff Alberta Canada

A futurologists conference was held in New York City in 1880 and the question posed was: “What will New York City look like in 1980?” The consensus was that by year 1980 New York City would not exist. The reason, according to the futurologists, was that to move the ever increasing population of New York in 100 years, 6,000,000 horses would have been needed, and the problems created by the manure would have been impossible to deal with!

This is a translation of a document about the early problems with ‘development ‘work in Zambia by Dr. Sirolli. It describes the dangers of ‘motivating’ local people and introduces the concept of ‘Enterprise Facilitation’.

This is a translation of a document about the early problems with ‘development ‘work in Zambia by Dr. Sirolli. It describes the dangers of ‘motivating’ local people and introduces the concept of ‘Enterprise Facilitation’.

This is a translation of a document about the early problems with ‘development ‘work in Zambia by Dr. Sirolli. It describes the dangers of ‘motivating’ local people and introduces the concept of ‘Enterprise Facilitation’.

The Sirolli Institute has developed a program of Enterprise Facilitation that fits the needs of rural Kansas very well. Enterprise Facilitation has worked in rural communities in America, Canada, and Australia. The process can generally be described as an intense business development handholding that involves the whole community in the development of small entrepreneurial business. Compared to rural barn raisings, Enterprise Facilitation uses local citizen leaders and sound business practices to assist people in succeeding. The outcomes expected from this system are between ten and 15 new or expanded businesses and 20 to 30 jobs each year. This level of outcome far exceeds the expectations of the majority of our rural communities and, more importantly, allows these communities to grow with one small business at a time. There are numerous examples of larger primary businesses located in small Kansas communities that have grown up in that community from a beginning of two to three employees. These types of primary businesses are best for our rural areas because ownership has its roots in the community. Enterprise Facilitation is the best opportunity for rural communities to grow stabilizing primary business.