EMPOWER Private Sector - Quarterly Report #10 Y3 - Oct - Dec 2016

The project began in July 2014 and has an expected term of five years, with an original budget of approximately $10 million that was expanded to approximately $14 million through a SIDA contribution to USAID during project year 2. The project has a staff of 16, plus 6 interns, and is headquartered in Pristina, with a branch office in North Mitrovica. It is implemented by Cardno Emerging Markets USA, with subcontractors Crimson Capital and RTC Consulting. The project's overarching objective is job creation, which comes from businesses that have market opportunities and need to increase their employment to produce more goods and services. To support job creation, EMPOWER aims to help firms expand and improve their capacities to sell into identified demand opportunities, while helping individuals obtain skills in demand on job markets by growing firms. These themes are reflected in EMPOWER's two primary work components: (1) SME-level competitiveness and (2) workforce development. EMPOWER provides its support through technical assistance combined with grants and procurements from its $4.0MM Strategic Activities Fund (SAF), complemented by other project budgetary resources for short-term technical assistance, meetings, and international travel, and its own long-term technical staff. The project has issued two calls for applications for assistance, one in January 2015 (APS 1) and one in June 2016 (APS 2). APS 2 remained open until December 31, 2016, when it was withdrawn due to the fact that applications received by that date substantially exceeded available SAF funding – 276 applications requesting $14.8MM in assistance. The First Kosovo Wood Industry Convention was organized over October 19-20, 2016, and consisted of a wood sector forum, a "Best of Kosovo" product exhibition, and a Students Design Contest. The convention aimed to promote the wood industry in Kosovo and provide a platform for businesses to showcase their products and services. The event was attended by industry stakeholders, including government officials, business leaders, and students. EMPOWER's work in the wood sector has focused on improving the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through training and technical assistance. The project has also supported the development of the wood industry through the provision of grants and procurements. In the quarter under review, EMPOWER supported 15 new activities in the wood sector, including training programs for SMEs and the development of new products and services. The project's workforce development component has focused on improving the skills of individuals in demand on job markets. EMPOWER has supported the development of vocational training programs and has provided grants to individuals to pursue higher education and training. In the quarter under review, EMPOWER supported 20 new activities in the workforce development component, including training programs for individuals and the development of new vocational training programs. EMPOWER's performance management indicators (PMIs) are used to track the project's progress and impact. The PMIs include metrics such as the number of jobs created, the value of sales generated, and the number of individuals trained. In the quarter under review, EMPOWER reported significant progress against its PMIs, including a 27% increase in sales and a 25% increase in jobs created. The project's PMIs are summarized in Table 3, which shows the key PMIs by sector.