With Japanese funding, UNDP provides business training for 600 people

December 28, 2018

Participants in the UNDP Yemen Livelihood and Human Security Project training. Facilitated by our local implementing partner, For all Foundation. | Photo Credit: UNDP Yemen

28 December 2018 | Sana’a, Yemen – Made possible by funding from the Government of Japan, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Yemen has partnered with the For All Foundation to conduct a series of vocational training in business skills development. With 600 participants, the trainings are focusing upon those with stresses caused by living through conflict including loss of life, loss of property and bearing witness to extreme violence. They are being held in the districts of Craiter and Attawahi in Aden, and Tuban and Tur Al Bahaha in Lahj and will run from 11 December 2018 through 7 January 2019.


Supported by UNDP’s Yemen Livelihood and Human Security project, the purpose of the training is to equip women and youth with the skills necessary to help ensure they can build successful businesses. This will help those who have lost their assets in the conflict – as well as those who suffer from post-traumatic stress – to begin to rebuild their lives and work toward the creation of various income generating activities.


The topics of the training sessions were selected based on viable business options within the current economic crisis. Some of these include: (a) solar energy; (b) sewing and tailoring; (c) hair dressing; (d) bee keeping; (e) mobile repair; and, (f) midwifery. Sessions are being taught both in house and in on-the-job demonstrations and training. Students spend a total of 120 hours in training before being awarded graduation certificates by the Vocational Training Institutes in Aden and Lahj.


Additionally, tailored training sessions are being conducted for participants who wish to focus on establishing micro-businesses. 400 participants will receive seed grants based on their business proposal evaluation by the technical committee. This will help them firmly establish their businesses to enable them to once again begin to provide basic services for their families.

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About the Project
UNDP’s Yemen Livelihood and Human Security Project (YLHSP) targets Aden’s and Lahj’s vulnerable individuals and neighborhoods affected by the conflict and returnees. The focus of the interventions are in three key areas: (1) identify needs and opportunities for affected communities to return normalcy; (2) restore the disrupted livelihoods of the crisis-affected population; and, (3) strength community-based protection mechanism with a focus on women and youth.


About the United Nations Development Programme
UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in nearly 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

UNDP in Yemen aims to restore livelihoods, social cohesion and security, reflecting a minimum of conditions necessary for resilience while focusing on the community-level. In this regard, our priorities for Yemen are: (a) supporting a peaceful solution; (b) economic recovery; (c) restoring basic services; and, (d) empowerment of vulnerable groups.

For more information, please contact:
Arvind Kumar: YLHSP Project Manager (arvind.kumar@undp.org)
Khulood Sheikh: YLHSP Programme Coordinator (khulood.sheikh@undp.org)
Walid Baharoon: Acting Head of UNDP Aden Sub-Office (walid.baharoon@undp.org)