The World Bank Somalia Empowering Women through Education and Skills Project - "Rajo Kaaba" (P176898) REPORT NO.: RES56000 RESTRUCTURING PAPER ON A PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING OF SOMALIA EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH EDUCATION AND SKILLS PROJECT - "RAJO KAABA" APPROVED ON JUNE 27, 2022 TO FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF SOMALIA EDUCATION GLOBAL PRACTICE EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA REGION Regional Vice President: Victoria Kwakwa Country Director: Keith E. Hansen Regional Director: Daniel Dulitzky Practice Manager: Muna Salih Meky Task Team Leaders: Huma Kidwai, Pedro Cerdan-Infantes The World Bank Somalia Empowering Women through Education and Skills Project - "Rajo Kaaba" (P176898) BASIC DATA Product Information Project ID Financing Instrument P176898 Investment Project Financing Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) High Approval Date Current Closing Date 27-Jun-2022 30-Jun-2027 Organizations Borrower Responsible Agency Federal Republic of Somalia Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO To improve literacy and numeracy skills of women in selected areas and to prepare women for leadership roles. OPS_TABLE_PDO_CURRENTPDO Summary Status of Financing (US$, Millions) Net Ln/Cr/Tf Approval Signing Effectiveness Closing Commitment Disbursed Undisbursed IDA-E0740 27-Jun-2022 05-Nov-2022 05-Mar-2023 30-Jun-2027 25.00 .77 24.09 TF-B8653 27-Jun-2022 05-Nov-2022 05-Mar-2023 30-Jun-2023 2.00 .23 1.77 TF-B8677 27-Jun-2022 05-Nov-2022 05-Mar-2023 30-Dec-2023 25.00 0 25.00 Policy Waiver(s) Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy waiver(s)? No The World Bank Somalia Empowering Women through Education and Skills Project - "Rajo Kaaba" (P176898) I. PROJECT STATUS AND RATIONALE FOR RESTRUCTURING 1. Project Status. The Project was signed on November 5, 2022 and declared effective on March 5, 2023. During this period the following tasks were completed to achieve compliance with social and environmental safeguards, and readiness for implementation, including (a) public disclosure of the Environmental and Social Management Framework, Stakeholder Engagement Plan, and Labor Management Procedures; (b) adoption of the Project Operations Manual; and (c) adoption of the Security Management Framework. The first Withdrawal Application (WA) for US$1 million was processed in June 2023. 2. The Project Development Objective is to improve literacy and numeracy skills of women in selected areas and to prepare women for leadership roles. The project interventions are organized into three components in addition to a CERC component (Table 1): Table 1: Project components and allocation Components Allocation ($ million) Component 1: Skills for life and labor market success 25 Component 2: Higher skills development for women’s leadership 20 Component 3: Technical assistance and project management 7 3. The World Bank carried out an implementation support visit from May 29 to June 1, 2023 and recorded moderately satisfactory progress towards implementation. Draft subsidiary agreements for the federal states are under review with the aim of finalization and signature in July 2023. While the project implementation unit (PIU) is in the process of being staffed, Rajo Kaaba project is supported by the Ministry of Education delegated staff and select members from the Somalia Education for Human Capital Development (SEHCD) PIU. Technical work is being undertaken jointly by the client and the World Bank towards the drafting of terms of reference (TORs) for project implementation partners (PIP) to be hired on component 1, to deliver foundational learning and life skills activities for adolescent girls and young women. A call for technical proposals is being drafted for a university grants program, aiming to establish women development centers (WDC) at universities that succeed in a grant selection competition. Simultaneously, the World Bank and the client have begun drafting TORs for a third-party monitoring agency, and a security firm, to be launched as part of the first tranche of disbursement received by the client. The first audit of project financial statements will be submitted to the World Bank by June 30, 2024. 4. Rationale for restructuring. The project has faced a set of delays related to timely signing and Declaration of Effectiveness. The client and World Bank are making deliberate efforts to catch up on the implementation timeline. However, to deliver the activities with desired technical and operational quality and compliance, the client (reference letter dated June 21, 2023) has requested to extend the closing date of the two trust funds (TF) financing this project until June 30, 2026. 5. Additional considerations. It is also proposed to modify two of the clauses for disbursement under this project, particularly those associated with (a) the conditional sequencing of the use of the three sources of financing, and (b) the WA ceiling of US$1 million. II. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED CHANGES 6. Extension of closing date. Specifically, the restructuring proposes to extend the closing date for Early Learning Partnership Multi Donor Trust Fund (ELP), TF0B8653, from June 30, 2023, to June 30, 2026. This extension is to allow for timely completion of activities committed under the project. There is no implication for an approved closing date iii The World Bank Somalia Empowering Women through Education and Skills Project - "Rajo Kaaba" (P176898) of the overall project supported by IDA financing and indicated in the IDA grant agreement (IDA-E074 SO) which is scheduled to close on June 30, 2027. 7. The client’s request to extend the closing date for Somalia Multi Partner Trust Fund (SMPF) grant, TF-B8677 will be considered at a later stage, subject to the prior extension of the End Disbursement Date of the Somalia Multi Partner Fund itself. 8. Revision to disbursement arrangements (a) The first proposed modification is to remove the conditional sequencing of the use of three sources of financing under section III(A) of the IDA and the SMPF grant agreements, as suggested in the following table. For the revised versions of the withdrawal tables, please refer to Annexures 1 and 2. Table 2: Proposed changes to withdrawal tables Disbursement Percentage of Percentage of Grant/TF Category and Expenditures to be Expenditures to be Section and reference Number Allocated Amount Financed Financed (US$) (Inclusive of Taxes) (Inclusive of Taxes) Original Phrasing Proposed Revision SMPF “100% upon exhaustion and Withdrawal of Grant Category 1 GRANT full disbursement of the funds Proceed (General) “100%” NUMBER allocated to Category 1 under Section III(A)1, page 13 20,000,000 TF0B8677 the ELP’ grant TF0B8653” “100% upon exhaustion and IDA full disbursement of the funds Withdrawal of Grant Category 1 GRANT allocated to Categories 1 under Proceed (General) “100%” NUMBER the ELP’ grant TF0B8653 and Section III(A)1, page 11 744,000 E074 SO SMPF’s grants TF0B8677, in that order of precedence” (b) The second proposed modification is to raise the withdrawal ceiling for the Designated Account for Federal Government of Somalia (i.e., DA-A) from US$1 million to a minimum of US$2 million. The current ceiling is estimated to be too low for project management needs by the second quarter of FY24. The proposed increase is expected to reduce the number of transactions and procedural tasks associated with WA and clearances during a Fiscal Year. The Disbursement and Financial Information Letters have been revised for the new ceiling of US$2 million for DA-A. The same will be reflected in the Client Connections portal after the approval of this restructuring. III. SUMMARY OF CHANGES Changed Not Changed Loan Closing Date(s) ✔ Disbursements Arrangements ✔ Implementing Agency ✔ DDO Status ✔ Project's Development Objectives ✔ iv The World Bank Somalia Empowering Women through Education and Skills Project - "Rajo Kaaba" (P176898) Results Framework ✔ Components and Cost ✔ Cancellations Proposed ✔ Reallocation between Disbursement Categories ✔ Disbursement Estimates ✔ Overall Risk Rating ✔ Legal Covenants ✔ Institutional Arrangements ✔ Financial Management ✔ Procurement ✔ Implementation Schedule ✔ Other Change(s) ✔ Economic and Financial Analysis ✔ Technical Analysis ✔ Social Analysis ✔ Environmental Analysis ✔ IV. DETAILED CHANGE(S) OPS_DETAILEDCHANGES_LOANCLOSING_TABLE LOAN CLOSING DATE(S) Original Revised Proposed Proposed Deadline Ln/Cr/Tf Status Closing Closing(s) Closing for Withdrawal Applications IDA-E0740 Effective 30-Jun-2027 TF-B8653 Effective 30-Jun-2023 30-Jun-2026 30-Oct-2026 TF-B8677 Effective 30-Dec-2023 . Annex 1 v The World Bank Somalia Empowering Women through Education and Skills Project - "Rajo Kaaba" (P176898) Financing Agreement: Revised Withdrawal Table under Section III.A of Schedule 2 Percentage of Amount of the Expenditures to be Category Financing Allocated Financed (expressed in SDR) (Inclusive of Taxes) (1) Goods, non-consulting services, consulting services, Training and Operating Costs under Component 1 of the Project, other 744,000 100% than for activities in Somaliland (2) Goods, non-consulting services, consulting services, Training and Operating Costs under Component 2 of the Project, other 8,928,000 100% than for (3) Works under Component 2 of the Project, other than for 4,464,000 100% activities in Somaliland (4) Goods, non-consulting services, consulting services, Training and Operating Costs under Component 3 of the Project, other 4,464,000 100% than for activities in Somaliland (5) Goods, works, non-consulting services, consulting services, 0 100% Training and Operating Costs for activities in Somaliland TOTAL AMOUNT 18,600,000 vi The World Bank Somalia Empowering Women through Education and Skills Project - "Rajo Kaaba" (P176898) Annex 2 SMPF Grant Agreement: Revised Withdrawal Table under Section III.A.1 of Schedule 2 Amount of the Percentage of SMPF Grant Expenditures to be Category Allocated Financed (expressed in US$) (Inclusive of Taxes) (1) Goods, non-consulting services, consulting services, Training and Operating Costs under Component 1 of the Project, other than for 20,000,000 100% activities in Somaliland (2) Goods, non-consulting services, consulting services, Training and 0 100% Operating Costs under Component 2 of the Project, other than for (3) Works under Component 2 of the Project, other than for activities 0 100% in Somaliland (4) Goods, non-consulting services, consulting services, Training and Operating Costs under Component 3 of the Project, other than for 0 100% activities in Somaliland (5) Goods, works, non-consulting services, consulting services, Training 5,000,000 100% and Operating Costs for activities in Somaliland TOTAL AMOUNT 25,000,000 vii