The Mongolia Ministry of Finance and the World Bank have launched an Export Development Project aimed to help small- and medium-sized enterprises(SME's) in the non-minerals sectors, to strengthen their export capacity and boost their access to export markets.

The project will be implemented by the government of Mongolia over  the next four and half years, and will support Mongolia’s economic diversification by providing the firms with training, grants and access to export credit-insurance products.

“In an economy where exports are heavily dominated by mining commodities, export diversification will boost productivity, overall entrepreneurship, and employment,” said James Anderson, World Bank Country Manager for Mongolia, at the project’s launch event. “This project also complements other efforts by the World Bank to support inclusive economic growth and livelihoods in Mongolia.”

In 2015, no less than 87 percent of Mongolia’s exports consisted of mining commodities; at the same time this sector accounts for only four percent of the nation’s jobs. By contrast, agriculture employs nearly 30 percent of the total workforce, with livestock providing subsistence, income, and wealth for nearly half of Mongolia’s population.

The project is being funded with a $20 million credit line from the International Development Association, the World Bank’s fund for the poorest. /infozine/