Ethiopia Local Economic Development (LED) Pilot: A Transformational Approach in Kebri Beyah Woreda
Credit: Community consultations on local economic development, Development International Management (DMI)
The Local Economic Development (LED) Pilot project in Kebri Beyah woreda aims to build the capacity of local government institutions to implement and sustain a coordinated LED approach in the refugee-hosting woreda. The pilot moves beyond traditional fragmented economic development to foster a collaborative and integrated ecosystem for economic growth at the woreda level in Ethiopia.
Key Objectives of the LED Pilot
The Ethiopia LED Pilot aims to build the capacity of local government institutions to implement and sustain a coordinated LED approach that moves beyond traditional, fragmented development interventions to create an integrated ecosystem where various stakeholders, including government bodies, private sector entities, social enterprises, and development partners, work in concert toward shared economic goals. The pilot specifically aims to improve coordination among LED actors to provide more comprehensive livelihood support, recognizing that isolated interventions have historically fallen short of achieving transformational economic impact.
It seeks to achieve the following interconnected objectives:
improve coordination among various LED actors, including government agencies, private sector entities, development partners, and community organizations;
develop comprehensive livelihood support systems that can effectively serve both refugee and host communities;
transform traditional subsistence-based approaches into sustainable economic development frameworks that can drive long-term growth; and
create lasting institutional platforms that can continue to facilitate economic development beyond the pilot period.
Key Anticipated Impacts of the LED Pilot
The anticipated impacts of pilot activities include the following, with some effects expected to be realized beyond the pilot period:
An increase in jobs;
An increase/improvement in the density of nano- or micro-enterprises;
Increased participation of women and youth in economic activities;
An increase in access to finance in target communities; and
Improvements in the LED ecosystem at the woreda level.
Timeline and Implementation Partners
The pilot project, implemented between February 2023 and December 2024, was executed by the World Bank in close collaboration with the Ethiopia Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (DRDIP) coordination unit at the federal and regional levels. The Kebri Beyah woreda government led implementation and was supported by primary implementation partner Development Management International (DMI). Additional development and humanitarian partners, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, also contributed.
Key Conclusions and Recommendations
The Kebri Beyah LED pilot provided valuable insights and recommendations on several key areas essential to promoting a robust LED ecosystem. All lessons challenges, lessons learned, key conclusions and findings can be found in the LED Pilot Results Achieved and Lessons Learned Note, but notable ones include:
Map LED actors and activities to understand the core institutions involved and potential governance structures that could enhance LED effectiveness.
Strengthen woreda-level stakeholder coordination and governance structures.
Foster public-private partnerships to cultivate sustainability and foster shared responsibility among all stakeholders.
Adopt a value chain approach, focusing on value chains that demonstrate significant growth potential.
Build capacity and strengthen knowledge management among all stakeholders.
Promote financial access and empowerment while strengthening market linkages to connect local enterprises with broader markets.
Focus on inclusion and gender integration, ensuring women have equal access to financial and technical resources to enhance their economic independence.
Ethiopia LED Pilot Key Knowledge Resources
Facilitating an Inclusive and Long-term COVID-19 Recovery in Ethiopia with a Local Economic Development Approach This 2023 World Bank paper examines the role of the LED approach in facilitating inclusive and long-term recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated impacts in selected refugee-hosting woredas of Ethiopia. This paper informed the recommendation for the World Bank to design and implement the Ethiopia LED Pilot based on its findings.
Ethiopia LED Pilot Presentation: An overview presentation of the Ethiopia LED Pilot that discusses the underlying problems, how the Pilot will address the problems, areas of focus, key intervention steps and timeline, and anticipated impacts.
LED Stakeholder Mapping and Analysis Note: Summarizes the methodology, guiding literature, process and results from the Pilot’s early-stage stakeholder mapping and analysis. The Note specifies the stakeholders identified to engage in implementation, decision-making, and other means of collaboration and support.
Kebri Beyah Woreda LED Strategy: Presents an evidence-based comprehensive approach; clear goals, objectives and outcomes; and key implementation steps to take for promoting sustainable economic growth and development within Kebri Beyah Woreda.
Blog » Ethiopia Local Economic Development (LED) Pilot: A Transformational Approach in Kebri Beyah Woreda
Ethiopia Local Economic Development (LED) Pilot: A Transformational Approach in Kebri Beyah Woreda
Ethiopia Local Economic Development (LED) Pilot: A Transformational Approach in Kebri Beyah Woreda
Credit: Community consultations on local economic development, Development International Management (DMI)
The Local Economic Development (LED) Pilot project in Kebri Beyah woreda aims to build the capacity of local government institutions to implement and sustain a coordinated LED approach in the refugee-hosting woreda. The pilot moves beyond traditional fragmented economic development to foster a collaborative and integrated ecosystem for economic growth at the woreda level in Ethiopia.
Key Objectives of the LED Pilot
The Ethiopia LED Pilot aims to build the capacity of local government institutions to implement and sustain a coordinated LED approach that moves beyond traditional, fragmented development interventions to create an integrated ecosystem where various stakeholders, including government bodies, private sector entities, social enterprises, and development partners, work in concert toward shared economic goals. The pilot specifically aims to improve coordination among LED actors to provide more comprehensive livelihood support, recognizing that isolated interventions have historically fallen short of achieving transformational economic impact.
It seeks to achieve the following interconnected objectives:
Key Anticipated Impacts of the LED Pilot
The anticipated impacts of pilot activities include the following, with some effects expected to be realized beyond the pilot period:
An increase in jobs;
An increase/improvement in the density of nano- or micro-enterprises;
Increased participation of women and youth in economic activities;
An increase in access to finance in target communities; and
Improvements in the LED ecosystem at the woreda level.
Timeline and Implementation Partners
The pilot project, implemented between February 2023 and December 2024, was executed by the World Bank in close collaboration with the Ethiopia Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (DRDIP) coordination unit at the federal and regional levels. The Kebri Beyah woreda government led implementation and was supported by primary implementation partner Development Management International (DMI). Additional development and humanitarian partners, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, also contributed.
Key Conclusions and Recommendations
The Kebri Beyah LED pilot provided valuable insights and recommendations on several key areas essential to promoting a robust LED ecosystem. All lessons challenges, lessons learned, key conclusions and findings can be found in the LED Pilot Results Achieved and Lessons Learned Note, but notable ones include:
Map LED actors and activities to understand the core institutions involved and potential governance structures that could enhance LED effectiveness.
Strengthen woreda-level stakeholder coordination and governance structures.
Foster public-private partnerships to cultivate sustainability and foster shared responsibility among all stakeholders.
Adopt a value chain approach, focusing on value chains that demonstrate significant growth potential.
Build capacity and strengthen knowledge management among all stakeholders.
Promote financial access and empowerment while strengthening market linkages to connect local enterprises with broader markets.
Focus on inclusion and gender integration, ensuring women have equal access to financial and technical resources to enhance their economic independence.
Ethiopia LED Pilot Key Knowledge Resources
Facilitating an Inclusive and Long-term COVID-19 Recovery in Ethiopia with a Local Economic Development Approach This 2023 World Bank paper examines the role of the LED approach in facilitating inclusive and long-term recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated impacts in selected refugee-hosting woredas of Ethiopia. This paper informed the recommendation for the World Bank to design and implement the Ethiopia LED Pilot based on its findings.
Ethiopia LED Pilot Presentation: An overview presentation of the Ethiopia LED Pilot that discusses the underlying problems, how the Pilot will address the problems, areas of focus, key intervention steps and timeline, and anticipated impacts.
LED Stakeholder Mapping and Analysis Note: Summarizes the methodology, guiding literature, process and results from the Pilot’s early-stage stakeholder mapping and analysis. The Note specifies the stakeholders identified to engage in implementation, decision-making, and other means of collaboration and support.
Kebri Beyah Woreda LED Strategy: Presents an evidence-based comprehensive approach; clear goals, objectives and outcomes; and key implementation steps to take for promoting sustainable economic growth and development within Kebri Beyah Woreda.
Pioneering LED Initiatives: The LED Platform: An infosheet on the LED Platform governance structure, goals and objectives.
LED Pilot Toolkit: Coming soon!
LED Pilot Results Achieved and Lessons Learned Note: Coming soon!