The Livelihoods, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Area of Action encompasses all actions related to providing resilient livelihoods, increasing competitiveness and access to decent employment, and supporting MSMEs, among other dimensions of the economic sphere. This is directly interconnected with socioeconomic vulnerability, access to basic services, and human rights, as well as pressure on natural resources and risks associated with unsustainable livelihoods or vulnerability to impacts such as pandemics, political-economic crises, or adverse climatic situations, among others.

The need to compete in rapidly evolving international markets, to increase the number and quality of jobs, and to boost competitiveness will reduce the Dominican Republic's vulnerability to economic shocks, increase the probability of sustained growth, and promote social inclusion. A central focus is improving the conducive business environment and support ecosystem for micro and small enterprises and smallholder farmers. Programs linking education, innovation, and entrepreneurship will enable the country to adapt to technological changes and nurture the jobs of the future.

Despite sustained economic growth, the Dominican Republic ranks 104th (out of 137) in the World Economic Forum's competitiveness index, 99th (out of 190 countries) in the Doing Business Index, and 82nd (out of 137) in the Entrepreneurship Index, behind some neighboring countries.

The main common problems identified in these classifications include corruption, bureaucracy, the tax system, and limited capacity to absorb investment and new technologies. Lack of security and access to financing are the next factors. Another identified problem is the low labor market participation of women in general, and poorer and rural women in particular. A specific analysis of the barriers to financing women's entrepreneurial projects is required, and intervention schemes for financial training and financial inclusion of women need to be modified.

The area of action related to the economic sphere of the IDDI focuses on creating conditions for labor productivity and wages to grow beyond export-driven manufacturing and the financial sector, in order to include impoverished and economically excluded populations. The IDDI has been working for some time to establish training components for women entrepreneurs, and focuses on promoting the insertion of women into jobs in historically male-dominated sectors, and within strong business ecosystems and value chains. On the other hand, these barriers and problems are emphasized by the high level of informality, the fragmentation of public support, the lack of innovative and sustainable companies, insufficient investment in critical infrastructure, weak integration of MSMEs and smallholder farmers into value chains, low real wage growth, and incomplete modernization of the state.

This transition must also be made from the perspective of Sustainable Production and Consumption (SDG 12). Sectors of significant importance to the Dominican economy, such as agriculture, tourism, and mining, among others, are directly based on the intensive use of natural resources. This places significant pressure on them if they are not used under environmental sustainability criteria and can jeopardize the sustainability of productivity in these sectors if not managed properly, directly impacting the labor market and the livelihoods of the population working in these essential sectors for the current Dominican economy.

For all these reasons, IDDI focuses its efforts on integrating environmental sustainability and sustainable resource management into livelihood and employment access initiatives. Therefore, some of the most relevant topics we work on at IDDI are the following: