Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Business Development Services Project

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The Djibouti Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Business Development Services (BDS) aims to complement the activities of the Djibouti Support for Women and Youth Entrepreneurship project (P165558) by expanding the capacity of the Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurship (CLE) to offer business development development services to MSMEs in response to the evolving entrepreneurship ecosystem in Djibouti City. Using funding from the European Union, the proposed project will support the reduction of operating costs for businesses through digitalization and build entrepreneurial capacity to respond to market demand.Under the first component, the project will provide financial support to the CLE to provide BDS and government-to business services (G2B) to new and existing MSMEs such as training, capacity building, skills development, financial planning, accounting, certification services, etc. The prepared feasibility study indicated that no sector will be excluded from project activities; however special attention will be given to promising sectors as identified through various studies, namely construction, energy, IT, fishery. The project will provide sector-specific support including technical studies and adoption of improved production technologies. For all project beneficiaries, digital technology adoption will be supported through activities such as website/social media page creation or revamping, digital marketing, digital payment set-up and usage etc. The project will also foster better integration in relevant value chains. Most of the services will be sold to MSMEs beneficiaires. The payment scheme will act as a filter in the selection of businesses and ensure their commitment. The prices of the services will be defined based on the maturity of the business, and the type of service. Support packages will be proposed at competitive prices cheaper than current prices applied by the private sector but ensuring the self-sufficiency of the CLE. Moreover, a physical kiosk hosting a virtual (online) One-Stop Shop for several G2B services will be established and opened to all MSMEs. This One-Stop Shop is expected to bring together several government agencies in charge of business regulation and MSMEs support in the same location.