The World Bank (WB) today approved US$600 million for two projects in Bangladesh to help over 1.75 million poor and vulnerable populations, including youth, women, disadvantaged groups, and returnee migrant workers, improve employability and livelihood opportunities, and build their resilience against future shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In Bangladesh, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the livelihoods of thousands of people, particularly, female workers, youth, and returnee migrant workers,” said Dandan Chen, Acting World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.
He said these two projects will help empower and mobilize rural poor people, prepare them for the future job market and support entrepreneurial opportunities, especially for women and disadvantaged groups.
The $300 million ‘Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) Project’ will equip more than 1 million youth and workers with skills needed for the future of work. The project will particularly support youth, women and disadvantaged groups, including people with disabilities to become skillful and to connect them to labor market. The project will also support industries to retrain their workers during and after the pandemic and thus accelerate recovery.
