Youth Employment and Business Start-Up (YouLead) Project – Sri Lanka Quarterly Report - Year

The program seeks to align the skills demanded by a competitive economy with the skills possessed by its youth. Key objectives of the program include increasing youth employability skills in targeted sectors, improving quality, relevance, and delivery of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and increasing prospects of successful self-employment. The program's regional focus is in the districts with the highest unemployment among young women and men, including Jaffna, Galle, Kandy, Mannar, Kegalle, Badulla, Kilinochchi, Hambantota, Nuwara Eliya, Monaragala, Matara, and Matale. Priority sectors selected for the project are tourism and hospitality, construction, information and communications technology (ICT), and healthcare. During the quarter from April 1, 2021, to June 30, 2021, YouLead continued to maintain a significant presence online through social media, webinars, and other forms of online trainings. The project launched the Tourism Resilience Project (TRP), a $3.8 million activity funded by the European Union (EU) with additional support from USAID. Key elements of the TRP include grants to help struggling tourism micro, small, and medium size enterprises (MSMEs), provide training in health and safety for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the tourism workforce, and help develop a new signature experience around hiking and walking. YouLead also worked to finalize and launch a more robust and youth-friendly redesign of the youlead.lk web portal. The redesign improves the user interface and prepares the site for increased traffic anticipated in the latter half of the calendar year. Key achievements for the project this quarter include the establishment of 23 new enterprises and 294 business expansions through YouLead support to the Development Finance Corporation's (DFC's) SME loan guarantee with Hatton National Bank (HNB), and reaching more than 350,000 individuals with program outputs. The program's implementation progress is summarized as follows: Component 1, Increase Youth Employability Skills in Targeted Sectors, focused on providing training and capacity building for youth in the priority sectors. Component 2, Improved Quality, Relevance, and Delivery of TVET, aimed to improve the quality and relevance of TVET programs in Sri Lanka. Component 3, Increase Prospects for Successful Self-Employment, focused on providing support to youth to start and grow their own businesses. Additional activities conducted as cost share with SDC resources included support to the TV Derana Startup 2021 reality program, while additional activities conducted with EU resources included the launch of the Tourism Resilience Project. Short-term technical assistance (STTA) was provided to support the implementation of the project. Reports and deliverables submitted included quarterly reports, annual reports, and progress reports. The program's financial management is overseen by the International Executive Service Corps (IESC), with budget expenditures and cost share and leverage reported. The status of required audit processes is also reported. The program's geographic coverage is nationwide, with a focus on the districts with the highest unemployment among young women and men. The program's key achievements include the establishment of 23 new enterprises and 294 business expansions, reaching more than 350,000 individuals with program outputs, and launching the Tourism Resilience Project. The program's implementation progress is summarized in the quarterly report, which provides an update on the program's activities, milestones, and achievements.