Local economic development training kicks off in North and South Lebanon

The trainings are an integral part of an innovatively designed array of capacity building services that the Empowering Municipalities through Local Economic Development (EMLED) program is designed to deliver to 115 rural municipalities and their communities.

RI in partnership with IRG implemented three sets of 2-day trainings on Strategic Planning, Project Development, and Business Planning in Akkar's Rahbe and Helba in north of Lebanon, and Jezzine in south of Lebanon.

The training sites represent clusters of rural municipalities and villages seeking to kick start, diversify, and modernize their local economies.

The trainings attended by 70 municipal officials and active community members motivated to assist their represented municipalities in having an active role in leaping from their current state of inactive economical environment.

The training focused on the roles of municipal governments, civil society organizations, youth and women groups, local banks and private sector businesses in developing strategic plans for investments in new businesses and the public infrastructure, policies, incentive systems and local institutions needed to support sustainable local economic development.

In addition to training on how to develop strategic plans, the two-day course focused on the role of value chain analysis in helping to identify promising public projects and private sector businesses, the role of public - private partnerships and private joint ventures in designing and implementing economic projects, and a practical guideline on how to create a sound business plan.

USAID has worked in Lebanon since 1951, and channels its continual assistance From the American People to fund and support development projects in order to assist the Lebanese people.

USAID is funding the EMLED program to empower local economic development in 115 of Lebanon's rural municipalities located in Akkar and Jezzine regions. RI in partnership with IRG are dedicated to serve those municipalities and communities by implementing the following key services: (1) capacity building trainings and mentoring to municipal officials and active community members, (2) linking the municipalities with the youth, women and local entrepreneurs, (3) nurturing an environment of successful public private partnerships to support launching new local economic projects, and to utilize Internet technologies to promote and market these products and projects to larger markets, increase sales and revenues, and create new job openings for youth, women, and entrepreneurs in the local communities.