Finance for Jobs II

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The objective of the Second Finance for Jobs Project for West Bank and Gaza is to test the effectiveness of selected financial interventions in incentivizing private sector investment and job creation. There are four components to the project, the first component being Development Impact Bond (DIB) for Skills Development and Employment. The DIB will focus on enhancing the skills of the Palestinian workforce in a more market-driven way to foster improved job outcomes. The DIB will target an estimated cohort of approximately 2,000 beneficiaries (depending on final DIB design) aged 18–29 years (including at least 30 percent women). It will finance the training, job search, and placement services provided to beneficiaries, depending on private sector demand. Specific outputs and outcomes will include the completion of beneficiaries’ training, their placement into an apprenticeship/internship/work-based training scheme, and their ultimate employment. The second component is the investment co-financing facility. This component entails providing a risk-sharing grant in support of commercially sound, job-creating private sector investments (ICF subprojects) through an investment co-financing facility instrument. Under this component, private sector investors will be encouraged to submit investment proposals for ICF support. The third component is the entrepreneurship ecosystem matching grants. This component entails provision of matching grants to beneficiaries to build their business development capacity and their business advisory capacity. F4J I launched financing (US$1.5 million) to test the EE-MG. Under F4J II, this is a zero budget component that will allow the F4J SOP to allocate F4J II funds from the other components to the EE-MG based on its performance under F4J I and demand from potential recipients, performance in deployment of funds across other financial instruments supported under F4J II and possible additional external funds raised. Finally, the fourth component is the project management. This component entails providing financing to PIA in support of project management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, including fiduciary control and oversight, environmental and social safeguards assessments, and preparation of project reports, and to cover project’s operating costs.