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cessful exit strategies include mechanisms to support participants’ evolution to reliance
on market-based mechanisms. The project’s exit strategy and communication strategy
should be closely linked, so that from the start participants are encouraged to plan for
the long term. The exit strategy should clearly articulate how the project is expected to
contribute to progress toward the goals of national recovery and development strategies
and plans. By emphasizing linkages with microfinance institutions, training institutions,
business development services, and government-led recovery and development programmes,
the exit strategy can facilitate the sustainability of livelihoods after the end of
the project. Exit strategies should also link start-up assistance to interventions for policy
and institutional development that is supported by UNDP and other partners (Track B
and C interventions) within national frameworks.
Box 3.4. Start-up assistance in Somalia
Somalia’s Berdale District has borne the brunt of the country’s civil war. In response, UNDP Somalia and the Somali Association for Rehabilitation and
Development (SARD) have established the Area-Based Early Recovery (ABER) project, which targets five villages and the town of Berdale. The project assists
281 economically and/or socially vulnerable households, which were identified and selected by a Village Project Implementation Committee. The livelihood
interventions in the ABER project consist of agricultural development, the establishment of small businesses, and infrastructure rehabilitation.
Start-up assistance has made a real impact on the lives and livelihoods of participating households. The following are some examples:
• A farmer, Ibrahim, received a start-up package of seeds, poultry, and the use of a tractor to revive his farm. He has grown a number of small-scale crops,
which he sells, along with eggs. The income he earns has enabled him to feed his family more nutritious food and to purchase essential commodities, such
as medicine and clothing.
• Fadumo, a widow with three children, received a start-up package of eight goats. Two more goats were born, increasing the number to ten. The goats
provide ten litres of milk per day. Fadumo’s family consumes half of this milk, and she sells the other half to members of her community. As a result of the
start-up support, Fadumo has diversified her family’s food intake to include meat and some fruit, and her children now have improved health and clean
clothes.
• Hassan, a young man who had been unemployed for more than a year and was contemplating joining a militia group, perceived an unmet demand in
Berdale for baked goods. He established a small bakery with two colleagues. The bakery had a limited production capacity of 400 rolls of bread per day.
It was not hygienically sound, and the ovens, tables, and other materials were dirty and broken. Hassan and his colleagues received start-up materials to
rehabilitate the bakery and to sell healthy bread to the public. With this assistance, the bakery’s production capacity increased to 1,200 rolls, the quality of
the bread improved, and the bakery started to generate a profit. The project has dissuaded Hassan from joining a militia group and has also enabled two
of Hassan’s children to attend school while also providing a vital service to the community.
• Hamida, a mother of four with inadequate shelter for her family, had gained experience as a milling machine operator. She and two other women received
a start-up package including a milling machine, various materials, and a two-day training session on business management. With this assistance, these
started a milling and grinding business. Hamida’s family now lives in suitable housing, and the community in Berdale benefits from the services that she
provides.
3.2.3 Addressing crosscutting priorities
As with all livelihoods and economic recovery programmes, those programmes that offer
targeted self-employment support can successfully promote gender equity and women’s
empowerment, reduce conflict and disaster risk, strengthen market activity, and avoid
causing harm in any of these areas only if they are designed carefully, and with these
objectives in mind. This section provides points to consider vis-à-vis addressing these
crosscutting priorities in start-up assistance programming.
Gendersensitivity. Gender-sensitive programming for targeted self-employment takes
into account the needs, concerns, and priorities of both women and men in project
design, and it promotes selection criteria that enable the distribution of start-up grants
and packages to both women and men. Projects often are designed to support home-
Livelihoods & Economic Recovery in Crisis Situations