With the intention of implementing an initiative to provide livelihoods to women and young people in Sierra Leone, the Board of Directors of the African Development Fund, the concession window of the African Development Bank Group, approved a grant of $19.95 million.

The Project to Create Jobs for Youth and Women in Climate-Smart Agriculture and Waste Management Value Chains targets value chains where youth and women are more active, such as cassava and fishing. The project aims to create 9,200 jobs, to strengthen the capacity of 3,500 young people and women to adapt to climate change, and to increase the incomes of MSMEs by at least 10%. It also aims to improve access to finance for 700 MSMEs; Strengthening the entrepreneurial and digital skills of 2,500 people in the cassava and fisheries value chains - 70% of whom are women; The training of 1,000 people in waste management value chains - including 250 women; The facilitation of business relationships between 700 MSMEs and large companies; The creation of a digital marketplace b& benefiting 5,000 small-scale farmers and 4,850 MSMEs in the value chain

This grant, which comes from Pillar I of the Transition Support Facility, aims to address the root causes of fragility and insecurity in Sierra Leone.