Fifth Quarterly Report: Partnership for Economic Growth - USAID/East Africa/LPC Somalia Program

This program is the first development initiative targeting economic growth for the USAID/EA/LPC Somalia program and is partially funded with Department of Defense 1207 funds transfer. The funding was supplemented by a Department of State grant during the second quarter to be used for communications and outreach activities. The Partnership for Economic Growth activities focus on two areas: private sector development, including women's business development, and strengthening specific productive value chains. As a result of comprehensive assessments completed in the first quarter, the Partnership designed three sub-activities which address two value chains - agriculture and livestock - and a concentrated set of cross-cutting business enabling environment activities. The sub-activities are spread geographically with livestock in the east in the Burao area, agriculture in the western Borama area, a number of discrete Business Environment (BE) and Energy activities centered in Hargeisa, and the Puntland sub-activity based in Garowe. The program is led by Program Manager, Mr. Suleiman Mohamed, and is supported by a team of full-time staff and short-term staff consulting support. The team includes Private Sector Specialist / Deputy Program Manager - Zaki Raheem, Livestock Team Leader – Jurjen Draaijer, Communications Specialist – Kaltun Hassan, and other specialists in various fields. The Partnership is continuing the full implementation of the Agriculture sub-activity, implementation of the approved Business Environment sub-activity tasks, an expanded Energy sub-activity, and initial implementation and drafting of sub-contracts within the revised Livestock sub-activity. The Puntland sub-activity SOW was also designed during the fifth quarter. In addition, the Partnership engaged in the Partnership Fund business grants competition evaluation retreat, hosted a launch with USAID to announce the finalists grantees, and began drafting Memorandums of Negotiations, Environmental Review Reports, and grant agreements. The results framework for the program includes the key phases of implementation, two intermediate results, and the program objective. The framework includes public-private partnerships, build capacities of entrepreneurs and business groups, business development services, micro-finance programs for women entrepreneurs, alternative energy sources, public awareness campaigns, build capacities of veterinary associations and animal health workers, knowledge networking, community-based conflict-sensitive NRM, and build capacity of fishing communities for processing and preservation. The program's performance management plan (PMP) was finalized in May 2012, after several inputs from USAID and IBTCI. The PMP will be used as the official guiding document for M&E of the program. The Monitoring and Evaluation section of this report discusses progress in more detail. Implementation of the program's activities is ongoing, with a focus on private sector development and strengthening specific productive value chains. The program is making progress in implementing the Agriculture sub-activity, Business Environment sub-activity, and Energy sub-activity. The Puntland sub-activity is also being implemented, and the Partnership is engaging in various activities to support the program's objectives. The program's geographic focus is on Somalia, with a focus on the eastern and western regions. The program is working with local authorities and private sector groups to improve the enabling environment for investment and generate more productive employment. The program's timeframes are quarterly, with a focus on implementing the program's activities and achieving the program's objectives. The program's recommendations include continuing to implement the program's activities, focusing on private sector development and strengthening specific productive value chains. The program also recommends continuing to engage with local authorities and private sector groups to improve the enabling environment for investment and generate more productive employment.