Selected Project Highlights 2021

The Tafawoq project in Lebanon improves the labor market integration of disadvantaged young Syrian, Palestinian, but also Lebanese women and men through a six-month Coaching Cycle. In addition, the project introduces the Opportunity Hub, which connects graduates of the Coaching Cycle with micro and small enterprises (MSEs). In 2021, 200 young adults (60% women) completed the Coaching Cycle and were able to improve their professional and social skills and expand their network. The employment rate of the 136 graduates of the first cycle is 67%. This result is impressive in the context of the unprecedented economic crisis the country is facing. The project also entered a collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 2021. Starting in 2022, it will combine humanitarian aid with long-term solution strategies by supporting farmers in cultivating Azolla (a type of algae). These plants are urgently needed as livestock feed and to strengthen food security. 

The project Skills to Build in Mozambique, on the other hand, promotes close collaboration with the private sector employment opportunities in the construction sector through specific training measures. A large proportion of the construction workers and workshop owners already employed have acquired their skills through "learning-by-doing." To enable them to obtain a formal certificate for their skills, the project, in close cooperation with the relevant government agency, pushed the system of competency-based certification (Recognition of Prior Learning or Recognition of Acquired Skills). In 2021, the Council of Ministers adopted the decree introducing the certification of previously acquired skills. Subsequently, 25 workshop owners have already received a nationally recognised certificate for their competencies.

The project Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture in Cambodia promotes appropriate technologies and extension services for sustainable intensification of agricultural production. This will lead to improved soil health, allowing smallholder farmers to increase their agricultural productivity and income. 2 800 smallholder farmers (14% women) were reached in 2021 with project activities such as, for example, promotional activities for cover crop seeds. The cultivation of cover crops during fallow periods leads to reduced soil erosion, improved soil fertility, and weed control.