This paper explores whether skills training in business performance and customer practices was
a promising way to increase business outcomes among self-employed workers who operate
small businesses in developing countries. We randomized training in business-management
skills and business and inter-personal skills among BRAC’s Small Enterprise Programme firm
owners in Liberia. We found that firm owners who received either training experienced an
increase in attention to customers, which consequently enhanced the performance of the
businesses, including higher average monthly revenue, less loss of customers, and a smaller
likelihood of encountering business losses. Customers, however, reported no effect on their
customer experiences.
