PSD Liberia context 

Liberia’s private sector holds significant potential for driving economic growth, decent job creation, and poverty reduction. However, this potential remains untapped due to structural weaknesses in economic governance, a challenging business environment, and an unfavourable investment climate. These systemic constraints, combined with underdeveloped value chains in the cassava, fisheries, and wood sector, limit opportunities for inclusive and sustainable economic transformation.

At the same time, these issues present clear entry points for targeted interventions under this Action, aiming to improve economic conditions, strengthen key value chains, and support private sector growth and create the business environment and investment climate in which they can flourish.

The Overall Objective of the Action is to contribute to increase the competitiveness, inclusivity and environmental sustainability of cassava, fisheries and wood processing value chains for enhanced decent job creation, economic growth, and competitiveness of Liberian MSMEs. The Action also takes into consideration strategic approaches aimed at addressing structural barriers to decent work opportunities for all Liberians, including Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), thereby facilitating their active involvement and contribution to Liberia’s labour market.

The Specific Objective (outcome) of the Action aims to ensure that MSMEs, with a focus on enterprises owned by women, youth and persons with disabilities, within the three targeted value chains increase their productivity and production quality so they can offer decent and inclusive job conditions while committing to environmental sustainability standards. However, this may occur only if the general ecosystem, including access to skills and business development services, is improved, therefore requiring policy dialogue at all stages of project implementation, involving the public and private sector, and EU and Liberian MSMEs.

The Action will focus on the two main areas of intervention and the related challenges: private sector development and value chain development (cassava, fisheries and wood).

Three components for the implementation of the Action have been defined as follows:

• Component 1: Improved regulatory frameworks through PPD, including a high level policy dialogue platform, and Institutional Capacity Development for a more conducive business and investment climate in line with sustainable and inclusive international standards.
• Component 2: Improved skills of MSMEs within the three target value chains, with particular emphasis on enterprises owned by women, youth and persons with disabilities.
• Component 3: Enhanced capacity of national stakeholders for creating employment and improved access to decent work opportunities for all, including marginalised groups (youth, women and persons with disabilities) for better skills, livelihoods and workplace accountability in line with International Labour Standards. 

The Action is financed by the European Union and will be co-implemented by Expertise France and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

One of the core value chains implemented directly by Expertise France is the Aquaculture Value Chain. The overall objective is to enhance sustainable fish farming production and market readiness by empowering cooperatives, small-scale fish farmers, MSMEs, and marginalized groups, including women, youth, and persons with disabilities (PWDs).

To achieve this objective, project activities will focus on the following:

• Technical and entrepreneurial capacity building, including trainings, workshops, field demonstrations, exchange visits, fairs, and exposure visits for small-scale farmers and aquaculture entrepreneurs. These activities will emphasize sustainable production practices, improved husbandry techniques, value addition and processing methods, compliance with food safety and quality standards, and business management skills.
• Coordination and supervision of field-level activities, ensuring technical quality and alignment with project ethics and objectives.
• Planning and Design of value chain upgrading strategies and activities,
• Monitoring, evaluation, and standardization of aquaculture-related activities, while ensuring integration of cross - cutting themes such as gender inclusion, youth engagement, environmental sustainability, and climate resilience across the intervention areas.
• Grant Management: Overseeing all stages from identification to reporting, including submitting, tracking, and renewing grants and seed funding.
• Value chain development through the design and delivery of organizational development trainings at all stages of the value chain, including cooperatives, SMEs, and other aquaculture-related enterprises.
• Support in facilitation of multi-stakeholder dialogue involving public institutions, private sector actors, research institutions, and producer organizations to improve the enabling environment for the fisheries and aquaculture sector.
• Supporting the implementation and scaling of innovations, through the coordination of pilots and demonstration facilities, and business models developed through strategic partnerships, research collaborations, and private-sector synergies.
• Documentation and dissemination of indigenous knowledge, new and locally relevant and adopted technologies, learnings, innovations, and best practices.
• Mainstreaming gender, youth, and inclusion strategies within the sub sector.