INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: ISDSA2410 Public Disclosure Copy Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 22-Jan-2013 Date ISDS Approved/Disclosed: 22-Jan-2013 I. BASIC INFORMATION 1. Basic Project Data Country: Morocco Project ID: P144134 Project Name: Strengthening micro-entrepreneurship for disadvantaged youth (P144134) Task Team Gloria La Cava Leader: Estimated 22-Jan-2013 Estimated 19-Feb-2013 Appraisal Date: Board Date: Managing Unit: MNSSD Lending Technical Assistance Loan Instrument: Sector: Other social services (100%) Theme: Social Inclusion (100%) Financing (In USD Million) Financing Source Amount Borrower 0.00 MNA VPU Free-standing Trust Funds 5.50 Public Disclosure Copy Total 5.50 Environmental C - Not Required Category: Is this a No Repeater project? 2. Project Objectives The Project Development Objective is to provide targeted disadvantaged youth between the ages of 15-29 years with access to quality business development services. The project will achieve the PDO through a focus on: a) strengthening the institutional capacity of national and local stakeholders to provide quality assistance to youth in starting and growing their micro-enterprises; and b) rigorous learning about the effectiveness of comprehensive self-employment support to disadvantaged youth in view of expanding access. 3. Project Description Project Context Page 1 of 6 To achieve its objectives, the proposed project will adopt a community-based approach to provide non-financial support services to young informal sector workers and other disadvantaged youth along the life-cycle of a micro-enterprise, thereby enhancing their ability to access existing financial Public Disclosure Copy services and increase the viability of their income-generating activities. Specifically, the project will identify key local markets and existing trades with high potential for upgrading and value chain integration, and provide a) Entrepreneurship training (life skills, business skills, and link to financial services), b) Post-creation business development support (e.g. mentoring, physical location, distribution). In doing so, the project will bring together local civil society champions, private sector players and local governments with the relevant public sector institutions that have a strong local presence, such as the Ministry of Youth and Sports (through its “Maisons de Jeunes� and “Foyers Féminins�), and EntraideNationale (through its “Centres d’Education et Formation� and “Centres de Formation par Apprentissage�). While supporting self-employment in Morocco and other countries has often focused on more educated unemployed youth cohorts, it is increasingly recognized that focusing on youth in the informal sector may be a more promising approach as they tend to be more inclined to start a small business (i.e. not waiting for salaried jobs) and often have already acquired some work experience (e. g. in the family business, agriculture, small-scale services, etc.) that is important to starting and growing a small business . The project’s geographic scope would include four target regions of Morocco following the government’s demand for cross-country coverage, i.e. Tanger (South), Oujda (East), Tangier (North), and Fes-Meknes (Center). Within those regions, specific outreach will be conducted in: a) a subset of communes and neighborhoods targeted by the INDH on the basis of poverty and youth exclusion, b) locations with market potential, based for example on priority sectors defined by the Regional Investment Centers (CRI) and Regional Artisan Plans (PRDA), and c) locations with a conducive enabling environment, i.e. the presence and capacity of local civil society, private sector, and relevant public institutions (Ministry of Youth and Sports, EntraideNationale, provincial governments, etc.). Public Disclosure Copy Component 1: Integrated micro-entrepreneurship support for disadvantaged youth. This component provides a menu of non-financial support services to at least 3,300 disadvantaged youth designed to facilitate the start-up and expansion of existing local youth-led micro-entrepreneurship. Aspiring and existing youth entrepreneurs can enroll in the program based on defined eligibility-criteria, i.e. having secondary education or less, being out-side the labor market or active in the informal sector, and having basic know-how in a specific activity or trade. Specific delivery arrangements will be made to ensure the participation of young girls (e.g. through female only groups). Specifically, under this component the project will carry out: a) Market assessments: Private sector providers will carry out local market assessments to identify the key sectors offering promising livelihood opportunities, the constraints of existing businesses and trades, and possibilities for creating new and upgrading existing micro-enterprises — for example by fostering value chain integration or exploring stronger distribution channels. b) Entrepreneurship training: Local implementing organizations (e.g. CBOs, NGOs, private sector) will provide a combination of skills needed to start and grow a business, including financial literacy (how to manage money and the use of financial services, such as savings and credit), behavioral and life skills (communication, goal setting and achievement, decision making, etc.), and business skills (market research, budgeting, etc.). As part of the training, the project will also orient beneficiaries in the start-up/expansion process, in particular by preparing them to apply to local Page 2 of 6 microfinance institutions (for individual or group-based micro-credit needs up to $5000) and existing grant mechanisms such as INDH (for income-generating activities with complementary financing needs beyond microfinance). Public Disclosure Copy c) Post-creation business development support:A sub-set of participants will be eligible for ongoing business development services from local implementing organizations to help them sustain and grow their business. This will include mentoring, access to physical space (i.e. existing youth center, businesses and training facilities will be used) that can be used by for production and/or distribution, and assistance with expanding distribution networks, making new contacts, and accessing regional markets, e-commerce, or other distribution channels. Beneficiary selection will be based on a 2-stage process. Aspiring and existing entrepreneurs can enroll in the skills training program based on general eligibility-criteria, i.e. having secondary education or less, being out-side the labor market or active in the informal sector, and having basic know-how in a specific activity or trade through technical training and/or demonstrated work experience. By targeting disadvantaged youth, the project will allow for broad access to the services offered. If interest in the program exceeds delivery capacities, a random selection will be applied to determine who will receive services immediately and who will be waitlisted for future rounds. Among the beneficiaries who complete the initial training, a subset of youth will be selected to receive post-creation support based on the potential viability of their new or existing self- employment project. The selection will be based on the project/business plans developed as part of the training which will be assessed by program staff and members of the local private sector, including MFIs. Beneficiaries of the post-creation support will primarily include those who successfully access micro-credits or grants to start and expand their income-generating activities, but may also include other quality projects where access to finance may not be a key constraint (primarily among those who already have existing activities). Component 2: Institutional capacity building. This component provides all the auxiliary support services necessary to successfully implement Component 1, including product and curricula development, strengthening institutional capacity for service delivery, and capacity building to Public Disclosure Copy recipient agencies and local entities. The institutional capacity building will be provided through competitively selected local and international service providers (NGO and/or private sector) under the coordination of the recipient agency and the project management unit. a) Product/curricula development: Based on national and international training curricula and other micro-enterprise support tools, minimum standards for the delivery of the services offered under component 1 will be established and existing materials adapted to make them suitable for the project. b) Institutional capacity building for service delivery: Under this component the project will also providetechnical assistance and strategic advice to NGOs and youth-friendly services on the local level so that they can deliver the integrated services efficiently and effectively. This includes capacity building on the content, curricula, and methods of the training and post-creation support provided, strengthening organizational functions of local organizations (Budgeting, Reporting, Financing, etc.), enhancing the capacity of civil servants in Youth and Women Centers managed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports on outreach and programming, and organizing thematic workshops and knowledge sharing events order to increase synergies and knowledge sharing among local implementing organizations. c) Capacity building to recipient agency and local governments: Targeting public officials at central and provincial levels (especially civil servants of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, EntraideNationale, and provincial governments or policemen, as needed) the project will provide Page 3 of 6 training on territorial planning and outreach of youth-focused programs, support the participation in specialized trainings and workshops on youth employment and entrepreneurship, and support the integration of lessons for future scaling up. Public Disclosure Copy Component 3: Project Management & Monitoring. A Project Management Unit (PMU) will be responsible for overall coordination and implementation of the project. Key responsibilities will include national and regional coordination, procurement, financial management, monitoring, communication and knowledge management, formalizing partnerships, as well as the selection and oversight of local implementing organizations and service providers. The project will draw on several complementary monitoring tools in order to a) support project management, b) ensure accountability, and c) foster knowledge generation. The project will include a robust monitoring system which will provide real time information sharing and learning to all implementation teams and partners involved, in addition to measure results directly related to project activities. The monitoring system will include a comprehensive set of process, output and outcome indicators and a continuous process of data collection and entry so as to assess the quality and effective delivery of the services offered. 4. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) The project mainly focuses on technical assistance and institutional capacity building. There are no physical interventions which might trigger the need for safeguard analysis as the project will do nothing that is not already being implemented under existing programs. The institution-building and technical assistance to be provided under this grant are simply geared to improve the performance of existing training services and the access to microfinance mechanisms.The incremental environmental impact of this project is not apparent and the low level of risk involved in helping to improve the access to such loan mechanisms is commensurate with the C rating. As the project activities focus only on capacity building activities and project activities do not involve involuntary resettlement or land acquisition , OP 4.12 does not apply. 5. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists Public Disclosure Copy Hana Salah (MNSSO) Andrew Michael Losos (MNSEN) 6. Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) Environmental Assessment OP/ No Project’s focus is on institution capacity BP 4.01 building and training activities to disadvantaged youth, and does not include any physical interventions relating to civil works. OP 4.01 is not triggered. Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 No Forests OP/BP 4.36 No Pest Management OP 4.09 No Physical Cultural Resources OP/ No BP 4.11 Page 4 of 6 Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 No Public Disclosure Copy Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP No As the project activities focus only on capacity 4.12 building activities and project activities do not involve involuntary resettlement or land acquisition , OP 4.12 does not apply. Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 No Projects on International No Waterways OP/BP 7.50 Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP No 7.60 II. Key Safeguard Policy Issues and Their Management A. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues 1. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the Restructured project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts: NA 2. Describe any potential indirect and/or long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area: The project mainly focuses on technical assistance and institutional capacity building. There are no physical interventions which might trigger the need for safeguard analysis as the project will do nothing that is not already being implemented under existing programs. The institution-building and technical assistance to be provided under this grant are simply geared to improve the performance of existing training services and the access to micro-finance mechanisms.The incremental environmental impact of this project is not apparent and the low level of risk involved Public Disclosure Copy in helping to improve the access to such loan mechanisms is commensurate with the C rating. As the project activities focus only on capacity building activities and project activities do not involve involuntary resettlement or land acquisition, OP 4.12 does not apply. 3. Describe any project alternatives (if relevant) considered to help avoid or minimize adverse impacts. 4. Describe measures taken by the borrower to address safeguard policy issues. Provide an assessment of borrower capacity to plan and implement the measures described. The proposed operation will focus on capacity building and technical assistance. The borrower will not be required to apply safeguard policies for this operation. 5. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. NA B. Disclosure Requirements Technical Assistance Project For a TA project which will finance the preparation of a specific safeguards instrument, please indicate type of document disclosed, if any. Page 5 of 6 NA If the project triggers the Pest Management and/or Physical Cultural Resources policies, the respective issues are to be addressed and disclosed as part of the Environmental Assessment/ Public Disclosure Copy Audit/or EMP. If in-country disclosure of any of the above documents is not expected, please explain why: NA C. Compliance Monitoring Indicators at the Corporate Level The World Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information Have relevant safeguard policies documents been sent to the Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] World Bank's Infoshop? Have relevant documents been disclosed in-country in a public Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] place in a form and language that are understandable and accessible to project-affected groups and local NGOs? All Safeguard Policies Have satisfactory calendar, budget and clear institutional Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] responsibilities been prepared for the implementation of measures related to safeguard policies? Have costs related to safeguard policy measures been included Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] in the project cost? Does the Monitoring and Evaluation system of the project Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] include the monitoring of safeguard impacts and measures related to safeguard policies? Have satisfactory implementation arrangements been agreed Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] with the borrower and the same been adequately reflected in the project legal documents? Public Disclosure Copy III. APPROVALS Task Team Leader: Gloria La Cava Approved By Sector Manager: Name: Franck Bousquet (SM) Date: 22-Jan-2013 Page 6 of 6