The Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurship hosts the Women and Youth Entrepreneurship Support Project funded by the World Bank. This a 5-year (2019-2024), $15 million USD project, which aims to create an environment conducive to the development of entrepreneurship, and to generate new economic opportunities for women and youth, in order to encourage innovation, stimulate job creation and improve the living conditions for all in Djibouti.

The World Bank project is articulated around the following three components:

• Component 1: Entrepreneurship awakening and activation phase - capacity building for women and young entrepreneurs.
• Component 2: Business dynamization and stimulation phase – improving access to services, financing and competitive value chains for women and young entrepreneurs.
• Component 3: Support for project implementation and monitoring.

Six main activities are carried out under the project umbrella:

1. Support for the creation of small businesses: This support is articulated around the youth entrepreneurship training program (FORJE) which consists of training in basic entrepreneurship, participation in a mini business plan competition, the allocation of a startup grant and personalized follow-up and support.
2. Support for business projects: Provision of co-working spaces and office space for companies, as well as provision of centralized information on entrepreneurship services in Djibouti.
   • An incubation center for the benefit startup teams
   • business plan competitions to financially support innovative business initiatives and help companies grow.
3. A resource and information center for companies: Provision of co-working spaces and office space for companies, as well as provision of centralized information on entrepreneurship services in Djibouti.
4. Support for actors in the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: This activity aims to reinforce NGOs, public and private actors supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Djibouti through results-based grants. This activity also supports business climate improvements.
5. Support for access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises: This activity supports the Partial Credit Guarantee Fund of Djibouti (FGPCD), which helps commercial banks lend to small and medium-sized enterprises, and the Caisse Populaire d’Epargne et de Crédit (CPEC) which serves micro enterprises. This activity also includes support for regulatory improvements on financial systems.
6. Support to competitive sectors and innovation: This activity is a) supporting companies in competitive value chains (such as tourism, fisheries, agriculture, logistics) and aims to b) train young people in innovation and digital skills in the "iLab" within the CLE where young people and women can learn coding, robotics or electronics.

In December 2021, the project benefited from a mid-term review, at which point the following results were noted:

• 349 new business formalized: 55% of them owned by women
• 1266 entrepreneurs accessed to finance: 55% of them were women
• 2255 beneficiaries completed training certification on entrepreneurship, innovations, and softs skills: 40% of them were women
• 6112 beneficiaries received business development services
• 32 Women led MSME’s supported through the WeFI program on e-commerce training to boost their business
• FORJE: 5 regions covered, 21 trainers hired, 27 training center upgraded.