Empowering Women Entrepreneurs and Upgrading MSMEs for Economic Transformation and Jobs in DRC Project

The development objective of Empowering Women Entrepreneurs and Upgrading Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for Economic Transformation and Jobs in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Project for Congo, Democratic Republic of is to enhance growth of new and existing MSMEs, especially women-owned, and promote job creation particularly for women in select geographic areas. This project has five components. 1) The first component, Support women entrepreneurs, firm creation, and Small And Medium Enterprises (SMEs) upgrading, has the following sub-components: (i) Support professionalization of women entrepreneurs; (ii) Training and competitive grants for creating new firms; and (iii) Matching grants for SMEs upgrading. 2) The second component, Financial inclusion and sustainable access to finance for women entrepreneurs and MSMEs, has the following sub-components: (i) Strengthen credit infrastructure; (ii) Unlock financing for women entrepreneurs; and (iii) Lower the cost and risk of digital financial services. 3) The third component, Entrepreneurship ecosystem development, has the following sub-components: (i) Business environment reforms to catalyze investment; (ii) Institutional capacity development for private sector reforms; (iii) Shared infrastructure and market access. 4) The fourth component, Project implementation, will finance activities related to project management, coordination, communication, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and possible scaling up of activities to additional geographic locations. 5) The fifth component, Contingency Emergency Response Component, will allow for rapid reallocation of uncommitted funds in the event of an eligible emergency.