Since the 2011 uprising that ousted the former regime, Libya has grappled with numerous substantial obstacles, including the challenge of reintegrating youth into the workforce, high unemployment rates, a fragile private sector, and the suspension of all national development projects due to the country's volatile security environment.

An enduring challenge stemming from the Gaddafi era is the extensive reliance on public sector employment and governmental roles, with the public sector serving as the primary source of jobs in Libya. This stands in stark contrast to global norms, where the private sector typically accounts for nine out of ten jobs.

In addition, Libya faces weak business ecosystem that includes lack of business development policies, burdensome regulations, complex administrative procedures, high levels of corruption and weak rule of law, lack of business support services, lack of information data and access to finance. According to the world bank Libya Economic Monitor - Spring 2021, the recurring disruptions to the oil and gas sector, the fragmentation of state institutions, the low ranking in most relevant indexes, notably the ease of doing business ranking of the World Bank, business laws and regulation, bankruptcy regulation, administrative burdens for entry and growth for businesses, lack of access to credit, land and property rights and the tax system are among the issues affecting the business environment in Libya” . This challenging situation is still valid in 2024.

Moreover, Libya's economy heavily leans on revenue generated from oil and gas production, which forms a substantial portion of its national income. Nonetheless, this sector offers limited job opportunities, employing only 2% of the workforce. Furthermore, the private sector faces difficulties in recruiting skilled and experienced workers due to deficiencies within the education system and a mismatch between educational institutions and the demands of the labor market.

1.    MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECTS

To tackle some of these issues, Expertise France, the French technical cooperation agency, together with the European Union and the French government, and in close cooperation with both international and local Libyan partners, have developed a set of targeted activities based on several years of experience in order to improve Libya’s business environment and support the growth of the private sector, among others.

Considering the very volatile environment in Libya, at both political and security level, it is of paramount importance to adopt a flexible approach in implementing the action. Classical long-term planning is not realistic in view of the ever-changing context. It is suggested to review both objectives and achievements every year during the steering committee to allow the necessary operational adaptations in the scope of the activities that would allow reaching the objectives of the action.

Expertise France is working on two projects from May 2024 onward.

The first project is E-Nable, a 3 years-project, funded by the European Union, with 5 M€. The overall objective of the action is therefore to improve the capacities of key economic institutions for sustainable and digital economic recovery and dynamics, in order to institutionalize the economic growth of the private sector, with the support of both private and public sector organizations.

The three objectives and components of the project are described, as follows:

-       To enhance public policies for economic diversification and enabling business environment

-       To take up digital innovations related to economic governance among public institutions

-       To improve services and products provided by financial institutions

This project seeks to assist the government of Libya and all relevant stakeholders in their efforts to promote development of an open, dynamic and diversified economy in Libya.

The project will contribute concrete and practical assistance to key Libyan stakeholders, who have capacity to accelerate the transition towards:

-       economic diversification;

-       competitiveness of the private sector;

-       digitalization of the economy and the society.

Outcome 1 (O1): Public policies for economic diversification and enabling business environment are enhanced.

Outputs 1:

-       Economic knowledge and data base are improved

-       Shared and concerted vision on sustainable economic development issues

-       Knowledge and capacities for enabling business environment, facilitating private sector development and fostering domestic and foreign investment are improved.

Outcome 2 (O2): Digital innovations related to economic governance are taken up among public institutions.

Outputs 2:

-       Public actors are supported in developing and implementing a national digital and innovative strategy

-       Capacities of MoET and CoCs' staff on a strategy and digital tools are strengthened

-       Digital tools and relevant capacities within the tax administration are improved

Outcome 3 (O3): Services and products provided by financial institutions are improved.

Outputs 3:

-       A political and organizational framework for establishing a leasing company for accessing credit is developed

-       Organizational and technical capacities of the Libyan Credit Information Center are strengthened

-       Knowledge on micro-finance is increased among banks

-       A new regulatory framework for enabling local market fintech actors is supported.

The second project names EU4Skills. It is a 42-Month programme (2024-2027). The ultimate aim of the EU4Skills programme is to enhance employability and better align the skills of the Libyan workforce to the needs of the labor market by promoting specific technical skills for private sector development and strengthening the capacities and services of key public institutions with a focus on the blue/green economy, digitalization, and the financial sector.

The action is conceived as a series of result-oriented activities operated in collaboration with numerous Libyan stakeholders.

The total budget of the programme is 7,15 million euros.

The outcomes (components) of the programme are as follows[1]:

Outcome 1: Embedding employability governance in education.

-       Output 1.1. Diagnosis of the current needs among higher education and technical institutions graduates is conducted to increase employability rate.

-       Output 1.2. Enhanced communication mechanisms between the educational institutions and the labour market.

-       Output 1.3. The capacity of the MoHE, MoTVE, and Career and Alumni Units' directors to implement employability strategies is strengthened

-       Output 1.4. A developed strategy to implement practical learning methodology and internship for Higher Educational and Technical Educational students and graduates.

-       Output 1.5. A decentralisation strategy for employability is defined with the education institutions, Ministry of Local Governance, selected municipalities, and the private sector representatives to facilitate the implementation and management of decentralised employability and skills reinforcement mechanisms and tools.

Outcome 2: Fostering digital transformation for employability and business growth.

-       Output 2.1. Top priorities for both public and private actors in terms of training/support are identified after a comprehensive analysis of Libyans digital opportunities and needs

-       Output 2.2. Employability is supported through the creation of a higher education digital curriculum and vocational trainings

-       Output 2.3. Capacities of GIA and Digital Lab are reinforced to facilitate digital employability in collaboration with education institutions and the private sector

-       Output 2.4. Digital employability mechanisms are deployed facilitating the collaboration and coordination of both public and private sector

Outcome 3: Strengthening skills in green and blue economies.

-       Output 3.1. Priorities to cover the gap between education sector and job market are identified for green and blue economies priority sectors related to the Libyan economic diversification strategy.

-       Output 3.2. Green and blue economy curriculum are designed and implemented to fit the job market priority needs.

-       Output 3.3. Green and blue economies employability mechanisms are deployed facilitating the collaboration and coordination of both public and private sector

Outcome 4: Reinforcing financial sector skills for SME inclusion

-       Output 4.1. Assessment of skills needs by the financial sector (gap analysis).

-       Output 4.2. Strengthening of the capacity of the Institute of Banking and Financial Studies to deliver high quality training and to better meet the skills needs by the financial sector.

The Chief of component “Reinforcing financial sector skills for SME inclusion” will have the opportunity to manage the following activities:

-       Component four (4) of EU4Skills.

It is to note that he/she may also support other projects related to EF to Libya portfolio depending on the needs identified by the Director of programs.

Targeted audience

Both projects target the Libyan economic and financial institutions, stakeholders and partners (public and private) depending on the implemented activities in each component. It mainly targets: The Ministry of Economy and Trade, the Ministry of Finance and tax administration, the National Bureau of Statistics, The General Information Authority (GIA), selected Chambers of Commerce (CoC), Prime Ministry Office, The Central Bank of Libya, Libyan Post, Telecommunications Information Technology Company (LPTIC), MSMEs, startups and investors, universities, CSOs and financial institutions.