SABY helps graduates of the ILO's Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) programme apply what they learned in real life: quick, practical, SIYB-based guidance, whenever they need it.
SABY is an AI-based SIYB support tool, developed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in collaboration with the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO) and the SIYB programme. It is delivered as a digital assistant accessible to SIYB trainees via WhatsApp, providing accurate, SIYB-based guidance on demand.
With SABY, SIYB graduates can:
SIYB is one of the world's largest entrepreneurship training programmes, used in over 100 countries through a cascade system of Trainers, Master Trainers and local partner organizations. Even with that strong structure, SIYB trainers face growing demands for post-training support that cannot be fully met. SABY helps close this gap by giving graduates continuous, on-demand support between and after training sessions.
SABY is an adaptation of MAIA, MYPE AsesorIA, already used by thousands of micro-entrepreneurs to earn more, spend less, and grow their businesses. But SABY is not MAIA: from the ground up, SABY is configured as a SIYB specialist. Its prompts, knowledge base, examples, and coaching style are steeped in official SIYB materials and tools, so trainees experience it as a digital SIYB coach fully aligned with what they learned in the classroom.
SABY does not replace trainers. It supports them by handling everyday questions and reinforcing content, freeing human trainers to focus on more complex cases.
SABY is currently being developed, deployed and tested as a pilot, and access is invitation only. Trainers and partner institutions in participating countries explain to their SIYB graduates how to connect with SABY on WhatsApp.
MAIA has already helped entrepreneurs in Latin America improve product display, reduce waste, organize finances, and test new ideas through low-cost, AI-powered coaching. With SABY, Hacer Perú and MAIA are partnering with ITCILO and the SIYB programme to bring this proven AI technology to one of the world's largest entrepreneurship training ecosystems, giving SIYB trainees a dedicated SIYB AI Buddy they can rely on every day.
SABY is the model: MAIA's engine, configured around your curriculum and your trainees. Talk to us about a version for your institution.
Write to Bailey Klinger, project leadAsk your ITCILO or SIYB programme contact about connecting your graduates to SABY in current pilot countries.
See MAIA's results