International Development Grant
Women and Youth Empowerment Entrepreneurship and Employment in the West Bank and Gaza
Project Number: CA-3-P005173001
Status: Operational
Country/Region:
Maximum Contribution: $8,000,000.00
Start Date: February 20, 2018
End Date: June 30, 2022
Duration: 4.4 years
Project Description
This project aims to create sustained entrepreneurship opportunities directly benefiting young women and adolescent girls (between the ages of 15 and 18) by addressing the main gender-based barriers they face to entrepreneurship and agency that impede their opportunities to develop Micro Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs). The project focuses on vegetable and dairy production in the West Bank and Gaza. Project activities include: (1) providing entrepreneurship training opportunities for young women and adolescents girls; (2) creating internship and apprenticeship opportunities for recent women graduates in partnership with women-led cooperatives and relevant MSMEs for young women and adolescent girls; (3) providing gender-sensitive extension services for young women entrepreneurs; (4) establishing support groups and mentorship programs for young women and adolescent girl entrepreneurs’ experience sharing and learning; and (5) conducting awareness activities to improve attitudes and leadership towards young women’s entrepreneurship by community leaders and members.
Expected Results
The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) enhanced entrepreneurship skills of young women; (2) increased and diversified access to and control of entrepreneurial resources and productive assets for young women; (3) increased access of young women to gender-sensitive entrepreneurship extension services and linkages to local and international markets; (4) improved attitudes and leadership towards young women entrepreneurship by community leaders and members; and (5) increased access to a business-enabling institutional environment for young women in MSME development.
Progress & Results Achieved
Results achieved as of March 2021 include: (1) three targeted universities and nine center-based organizations implemented gender-responsive programming; (2) over 94% of young women (aged 19-29 years) participants demonstrated an understanding of leadership skills and life skills and 75%-86% demonstrated an understanding of entrepreneurship skills; (3) 54% of young women-owned businesses operating from the first seed-funding round have integrated varied green innovations and technologies into their businesses; (4) local partners improved their organizations gender policy conducted training sessions for their technical teams and management developed a management information system and established child-care facilities in their agri-incubators; (5) 33 young women-owned Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and three cooperatives’ businesses are operational following receiving incubation services to improve their businesses with suitable incubation mentoring coaching seed-funding branding and marketing; and (6) 48 young women-owned MSMEs from the second round of seed funding have received capacity building and financial grants for inputs required to establish or expand their business.
Key Information
Executing Agency:
Consortium Save the Children & Norwegian Refugee Council
Reporting Organization:
Global Affairs Canada
Program:
EGM Europe Arctic Middle East and Magh
Last Modified:
September 19, 2025
Development Classifications
DAC Sector:
Aid Type: Project-type interventions
Collaboration: Bilateral
Finance Type: Aid grant excluding debt reorganisation
Selection Mechanism:
Call for Proposals