World Bank - SILED

1. Component A -- Community Investment Grants ($ 1,838,400)

The project development objective is to improve the quality and availability of basic community infrastructure and support small and micro enterprise development in a way that promotes social inclusion. The main beneficiaries of the proposed project will be inhabitants of the poorest third of Kosovo’s municipalities, including all municipalities that have minority or multi-ethnic enclaves. This component will help communities develop and finance priority economic and social infrastructure investments that are identified in a participatory and socially inclusive manner, and included in a local development strategy and plan.

2. Component B – SME Support ($ 2,202,660)

A group that will particularly benefit from the project will be owners and employees of small and micro enterprises (SME). This component will support small and micro enterprises to enable them to increase and/or stabilize revenues and generate local employment opportunities. Business start-up and expansion grants will be made available to complement savings and other funds already mobilized by (would be) entrepreneurs. This will be done on a competitive basis, after having widely publicized the eligibility criteria, the scoring method and the funding formula. The level of matching funds required has been tentatively set at 20 percent and the ceiling for grants at €10,000. Grants will not be approved for new constructions or raw materials (they will primarily finance machinery, equipment, tools or specialized training), and procurement from Kosovar sources will be encouraged.

3. Component C – Capacity Building and Project Management (US$ 861,612).

This component will build on the achievements of the CDF II project that financed a comprehensive capacity building and technical assistance program.