South Sudan - Private sector development in a fragile context - Capacity Building and access to finance youth and women


Project Summary

Approval Date 23 Nov 2021
Signature Date 03 Feb 2022
Planned Completion Date 30 Apr 2025
Last Disbursement Planned Date 30 Apr 2025
Sovereign / Non-Sovereign Sovereign
Sector Social
DAC Sector Code 11231
Environmental Category 3
Commitment U.A 1,500,000
Status Implementation

Project General Description

The Private Sector Development in Fragile Context: Capacity Building and Access to Finance for Youth and Women (PSDFC) aims to increase employment opportunities, market access and incomes for women and youth in South Sudan. The PSDFC project is complementing other Bank funded projects to maximize the impact on job creation. It will contribute to sustain peace and development in South Sudan, widening the opportunities for women and youth, and engage them through entrepreneurial skills enhancement. Specifically, this will address:(i) low levels of business and financial skills including literacy on business management; (ii) challenges in accessing financing, diversifying and sustaining Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs); (iii) inaccessibility to services of good quality; iv) limited access to information about market demands and trends; (v) absence of organised collective efforts to meet market requirements; (vi) low productivity; and (vii) capacity challenges of government and private sector institutions for private sector and entrepreneurship development. The project will be implemented over a period of 36 months in Western Bahr-el-ghazal and Western Equatoria where activities in the above value chains are viable. Its total cost is UA 1,500,000 (equivalent to USD 2,145,000) financed through Transition Support Facility (TSF) pillar III.

Project Objectives

The overall goal of the PSDFC project is to increase employment opportunities, market access and incomes for women and youth in South Sudan. The specific objectives of the PSDFC project are: (i) Support growth of MSEs through Business Development Services (BDS), technical training and linkages to Markets and Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs) to access finance; and(ii) Strengthened institutional capacities of the government and private sector institutions to promote growth of MSEs and the economic empowerment of women and youth.

Beneficiaries

Direct project beneficiaries are: (i) 1,050 youth (18-35 years, 50% female) and 450 women who will be supported to establish, respectively, 30 and 20 market/value chain-oriented Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLAs) respectively. VSLAs members will be encouraged to form groups of 5 people based on common economic interest to create MSEs and access business start-up capital from the financing facility. The start-up capital will be offered in form of interest free loans to be reimbursed to create a revolving fund for women and youth-led MSEs.

Participating Organization

Funding
Transition Support Facility
Implementing
MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC PLANNING

Information

IATI identifier 46002-P-SS-I00-009
Last Update 22 Mar 2023

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Contact Details

Name André Marie TAPTUE
Email a.taptue@afdb.org

Geographic Location

Country South Sudan
Coordinates Location Name
8.15 26 Western Bahr al Ghazal
5.4 28.4 Western Equatoria