Accelerating Economic Diversification and Job Creation Project

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The development objective of the Accelerating Economic Diversification and Job Creation Project for Angola is to increase private investment and climate resilient growth of micro, small and medium enterprises in non-oil value chains, particularly in the Lobito corridor. The project comprises of four components. The first component, enabling environment for trade, finance, and investment will strengthen the regulatory and institutional environment for trade, firm entry and operations, and access to finance (particularly for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs)), by supporting technical assistance, capacity building, and selected investments in government systems, small works, and equipment. It consists of following sub-components: (i) improving trade facilitation; (ii) improving the business environment for firm entry and operations; and (iii) strengthening financial sector infrastructure and depth. The second component, catalyzing investment in productive infrastructure will identify and support strategic subprojects as entry points for private sector investment in low-carbon and climate-resilient productive infrastructure in the Lobito corridor. It consists of following sub-components: (i) strengthening capacity for developing productive infrastructure as public-private partnership (PPPs); (ii) due diligence for productive infrastructure PPPs; and (iii) public investment in climate-resilient last-mile infrastructure. The third component, strengthening firms’ capabilities and access to finance will finance investments and business development services to improve growth, productivity, and market access for firms, with special attention to addressing the specific constraints of women-owned and led businesses. It consists of following sub-components: (i) strengthening firms’ capabilities and technology adoption; and (ii) sharing risk to promote lending to creditworthy firms. The fourth component, project management and monitoring and evaluation (M and E) will provide the necessary technical and financial support for the implementation of the project and for results measurement.