The World Bank on Friday approved $600 million for two projects in Bangladesh to help over 1.75 million poor and vulnerable populations, including youth, women, disadvantaged groups and returnee migrant workers, to improve employability and livelihood opportunities, and build their resilience against future shocks like the Covid-19 pandemic.
The $300 million Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation Project will equip more than 1 million youth and workers with skills needed for the future of work, according to a WB press release.
The project will particularly support youth, women and disadvantaged groups, including people with disabilities to become skilful and to connect them to labour market, it said.
The project will also support industries to retrain their workers during and after the pandemic and thus accelerate recovery, it added
The $300 million Resilience, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood Improvement Project will help improve the livelihoods of about 750,000 poor and vulnerable rural people across 3,200 villages in 20 districts.
The project will provide immediate and tailored livelihood support to rural poor people for responding to urgent needs such as the Covid 19 pandemic, improve their ability to cope with future shocks and help them come out of poverty through income-generating activities and skill development.
‘In Bangladesh, the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the livelihoods of thousands of people, particularly, female workers, youth, and returnee migrant workers,’ said Dandan Chen, acting World Bank country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.
These two projects will help empower and mobilise rural poor people, prepare them for the future job market and support entrepreneurial opportunities, especially for women and disadvantaged groups, he said.
Both the projects have a maturity of 30 years including a grace period of 5 years, according to the press release.
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