The Livelihoods, Entrepreneurship and Innovation action area brings together all actions related to the provision of resilient livelihoods, increased competitiveness and access to decent employment, and support to MSMEs, among other dimensions of the economic sphere, directly interrelated to the situation of socio-economic vulnerability, access to basic services and human rights, as well as with the pressure on natural resources and the risks associated with unsustainable livelihoods or vulnerability to impacts such as pandemics, political-economic crises or adverse weather conditions, among others.

The need to compete in rapidly changing international markets, and to increase the number and quality of jobs and improve competitiveness will reduce the Dominican Republic's vulnerability to economic shocks, increase the likelihood of sustained growth, and promote social inclusion. A central focus is improving the enabling business environment and support ecosystem for micro and small enterprises and small farmers. Programs that link education, innovation and entrepreneurship will enable the country to adapt to technological change 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 rankings 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 problem identified is the low labor market insertion of women in general and of poorer women and rural women in particular. A specific analysis of the barriers to financing women's entrepreneurial projects and modification of the intervention schemes for financial training and bankarization of women is required.

IDDI's economic action area focuses on creating the conditions for labor productivity and wages to grow beyond export-driven manufacturing and the financial sector to include poor and excluded populations in the economy. IDDI has been working for some time to institute training components for women entrepreneurs, and focuses on promoting the insertion of women's jobs in historically male-dominated sectors, and in strong entrepreneurial 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 enterprises, insufficient investments in critical infrastructure, weak integration of MSMEs and small farmers in value chains, low real wage growth and incomplete modernization of the state.

This transition must also be made under 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 based directly on the intensive use of natural resources. This puts great pressure on them if they are not used under environmental sustainability criteria, and can jeopardize the sustainability of the productivity of these sectors if they are not properly managed, directly affecting the labor market and the livelihoods of the population working in these sectors, which are essential to the Dominican economy today.

Therefore, IDDI focuses its efforts on integrating environmental sustainability and sustainable resource management into actions related to livelihoods and access to employment. Some of the most relevant issues that IDDI works on are, therefore, the following: