The LEED Project, implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Labour Relations, will promote economic empowerment and decent employment of the most vulnerable and conflict-affected communities in Vavunya, Mannar and Jaffna. The project will directly assist 2,400 or more of the most vulnerable households, in the three districts, with vocational, business and life-skills training, entrepreneurship development, value chain development and/or gaining wage employment in the public and private sector. A community-based approach will bring together different social groups in the communities to work together for improving their economic conditions/status. At a minimum, 40 enterprises will be assisted to expand and other crucial pre-displacement enterprises will be re-started.
These components will be implemented holistically in a synchronized manner in the same locations, all leading to boosting local economies, reducing poverty and increasing trust and interaction. The different components of the project will reinforce each other thereby maximizing impact, beyond the sum of what the parts could achieve. Immediate indirect beneficiaries are expected to be over 6,000 micro and small enterprises in the target areas.
The Project aims to cater to approximately,
- 1,100 female-headed households
- 200 households of persons with disabilities
- 1,100 conflict-affected youth, over a period of three years in three districts.
Project objectives
- Objective 1 : To improve the policy environment for inclusive and sustainable entrepreneurship, job creation and gender equality for vulnerable groups in the selected conflict-affected communities
- Objective 2 : To enhance the employability of female-headed households, persons with disabilities and unemployed youth through skills, business and life-skills training
- Objective 3 : To facilitate the development and growth of enterprises with a focus on the special needs of women, youth and disabled entrepreneurs, in collaboration with local business development services, training providers and local government services
- Objective 4 : To provide business development services including post-training support, vocational counseling, long term business mentoring, equipment, tools and facilitation of access to credit
- Objective 5 : Increase market absorbability through value chain development and interventions targeting local competitive advantages to accommodate new business entrants and existing businesses to benefit from higher capital and market share growth both in promising sectors
- Objective 6 : To design and implement with the Ministry of Labour and Labour Relations, a sustainable business placement system in existing businesses and public sector organisations
Project partners and stakeholders
- Ministry of Labour and Labour Relations
- Presidential Task Force for Resettlement, Development and Security in the Northern Province
- Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC)
- Trade Unions
For further information
Chief Technical Advisor
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