The Entrepreneurship Development Programme aims to improve quality of life in rural areas, to empower local communities and enhance their access to the labour market through enterprise creation and employment.

The programme covers four FIRDOS Villages in Ebla, a particularly frail/destitute area of the Idleb region. It targets both men and women, between the ages of 18 and 50, with special focus on women, who are to constitute at least 50% of the programme beneficiaries.  

The targeted area has previously benefited from the FIRDOS microcredit scheme which provided micro-loans to local communities on individual basis. The local communities have now expressed a need for support to establish larger projects and a willingness to work collectively and start businesses that involve many partners.

Notwithstanding the fact that the establishment of supported businesses would participate in the economic growth of the area, there are further potential economic opportunities in the region based on its assets (e.g. Ebla historical site).

As such, the programme provides two-fold services: microloans targeted to beneficiaries with micro income generating activities, as per the microcredit scheme and Entrepreneurship Development Services for potential entrepreneurs, focusing on business development services, training and microcredits.