The Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) and the World Bank on Monday signed a $150.75 million financing agreement aimed at expanding youth employment, skills development and entrepreneurship initiatives in Bangladesh.
The agreement was signed in Dhaka by PKSF Managing Director Md Fazlul Kader and the World Bank’s Division Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, Jean Pesme.
The funding will provide additional financing for the ongoing Recovery and Advancement of Informal Sector Employment (RAISE) project, which has been implemented by PKSF since its launch in 2022.
Originally approved with an allocation of $250 million and scheduled to run until June 2026, the RAISE project will now continue until December 2030 following the latest funding boost. The budget for the extended phase will stand at $280.65 million, with the remaining funds to be contributed by PKSF and its partner organisations.
With the additional financing, the total budget for the RAISE project for the 2022–2030 period has increased to $536.50 million, equivalent to approximately Tk 61 billion.
The project seeks to raise incomes and enhance skills among unemployed youth, informal sector workers and micro-entrepreneurs across the country.
By December 2030, more than 400,000 people are expected to benefit directly from the programme, while four to five times as many are likely to gain indirect benefits, according to PKSF.
During the extended phase, particular emphasis will be placed on engaging young people from remote and climate-vulnerable areas, including char regions, haor belts and the hill tracts.
To promote greater participation of women in the informal economy, the project also plans to establish home-based childcare centres.
Under the RAISE initiative, young participants receive market-oriented technical training, including hands-on learning through the traditional ustad–shagred model. The programme also supports job placement for trained youth, while young micro-entrepreneurs are provided with affordable credit and business development services to help expand their enterprises and generate new employment opportunities.