Urban Works & Microenterprise Pilot Project

closed

The Urban Works and Microenterprise Pilot Project will help the Government to develop a five-year program to boost employment and small-scale economic activity in urban areas, based on the successful approach of the Rural Poverty Alleviation Pilot Project. Objectives of the five-year Pilot Program will be: 1) to create employment and stimulate private-sector activity in urban areas; 2) to repair basic urban infrastructure; 3) to promote microenterprises; and 4) to assist local governments obtain the skills they need for promoting economic development in the long run. The project will test approaches to the program's implementation during its first two years. Pilot project components are: 1) establish the necessary implementation framework for the proposed program by expanding the existing Rural Development Fund into an Albanian Development Fund; 2) urban works. Organize approximately 30 public works, which will rehabilitate small infrastructure, create needed market facilities, or address environmental problems; 3) small-scale credit and microenterprise support; and 4) studies and training to evaluate project impact and help local governments to acquire the skills needed for promoting long-term local development.