The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are training 30 Libyan youth, officials, and NGO staff on a Japanese management improvement technique to promote economic recovery in Libya.
The training will be organized in collaboration with the Tunisian Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Energy and the Libyan Foreign Ministry.
According to the WFP, the Kaizen management approach “supports an environment of continuous learning, integration, and innovation in a culture of continuous improvement.”
The project is co-funded by JICA and WFP. The workshops are taking place from 27 February to 10 March, during which participants will visit model businesses that apply, and have benefited from the Kaizen approach.
“We are grateful to JICA, the Government of Tunisia, and the Government of Libya for their support to extend the Kaizen approach to businesses and start-ups run by Libyan youth and women,” the Deputy Country Director of WFP in Libya, Yasuyuki Misawa said.
“This training will support our participants – some of them coming from strained cities such as Benghazi and Sirte – to become a force of change and lead the development in Libya,” he added.
The WFP pointed out that these workshops are part of its efforts to promote economic and industrial recovery in Libya. As well as supporting youth inclusion, through the establishment of innovative entrepreneurship programmes in the country.
“Libya is in fact still facing significant challenges as a result of the aftermaths of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, whose effects are weighing significantly on the local economy,” the WFP said.
The opening ceremony took place on 27 February 2023. The Chargé d’Affaires of the Japanese Embassy to Libya, Masaki Amadera and the General Director of the Management Unit of the National Program of Quality and Productivity Promotion (UGPQP), Zouheir Makhloufi were present.
“We are delighted to provide Libyan entrepreneurs with this training about the Kaizen approach. Tunisia is already working with many African countries on Kaizen dissemination, but it is important to have such activities with Tunisia’s closest neighbours,” said Makhloufi.
“We are hoping to be able to work with these aspiring Libyan youth towards rebuilding their country,” Amadera said.