Democratic Republic of Congo SME Development and Growth Project : Integrating a Gender Equality Lens

The project provides a mix of interventions that support growth opportunities for high potential enterprises and entrepreneurs and that foster resilience and coping mechanisms for a broader base of enterprises that contribute to employment and stability. Specific activities support the development and dissemination of legal reforms aimed at leveling the playing field for women. The project consists of three components: (1) supporting entrepreneurship opportunities for youth start-ups, self-employed women, subsistence entrepreneurs, and those running home-based or family-owned businesses. This will be done through technical assistance (TA) and financing of business plans; (2) small and medium enterprise (SME) development that will provide matching grants to SMEs, led by men and women, with a good track record that face constraints to growth that cannot be addressed in the current context because of market and institutional failures. These SMEs will be identified via component one, which aims to build a pipeline of firms; and (3) project management and capacity building of public and private business development services (BDS) to reinforce skills and capabilities to deliver services to the private sector.