Project Name：Assisting the Economic Empowerment of Youth and Women Project in Latin America and the Caribbean in the Post COVID-19 Era Project / St. Lucia

Project status：Projects in Operation

Cooperating Country：Caribbean, St. Lucia

Project Description：

To support the post-pandemic economic recovery of our allies in Latin America and the Caribbean, and to maintain social stability through enhancing youth and women's economic empowerment, this project aligns with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' policy planning. By integrating financial services with employment and entrepreneurial capacity building, it aims to assist youth, women and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in coping with the impact of the pandemic, thereby promoting economic recovery and social stability in our allied countries. The main components of the project include:

1. Vocational skills training for youth and women
2. Youth and Women's entrepreneurship incubation and guidance
3. Relief guidance for MSMEs

Implementation Start Date：2021-11-22

Implementation End Date：2025-12-31

Project Objectives：

1. Provide vocational skills training for youth and women.
2. Offer youth and women’s entrepreneurship incubation and guidance.
3. Provide relief guidance for MSMEs.

Executing Agency：

Office of the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia
Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and the Youth Economy
Ministry of Youth Development and Sports
Ministry of Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training
Ministry of Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs
Ministry of Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information
Cultural Development Foundation
Laborie Digital Development Centre
Sir Arthur Lewis Community College
Taiwan Technical Mission in Saint Lucia

Current Progress：

As of the end of June 2025, the project successfully concluded with the following achievements:

1. Delivered vocational skills training program for youth and women, providing hands-on courses on the knowledge and skills required by youth and women at different stages of micro-entrepreneurship. A total 16 training sessions were organized, which provided training to 529 youths and women, and counseling on 139 submitted case proposals.
2. Held youth and women's entrepreneurial development counseling sessions, providing guidance to the trainees in writing their business plans, discussing possible business models, and assisting in matching funds and angel investors to increase their chances of success. A total of 15 training sessions were organized, consulting services were provided to 772 startups.
3. Provided relief counseling for MSMEs, offering guidance to MSMEs through efforts such as training sessions and assistance with business management, financial planning, production, marketing, human resources and financing to strengthen their business capacity to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, two training sessions were organized, and consulting services were provided to 161 startups.

Project Contact：Yeh Min Yu

Phone：+886-2-28886028

E-mail：m.y.yeh@icdf.org.tw