El Salvador / The Dominican Republic – SS Exchange for LED promotion

SSC has contributed to stimulate local economy in El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.  The cooperation started in 2011, with a technical exchange between LED actors of El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, after which participants created a network for sharing information and best practices, and for supporting each other’s initiatives. The most successful Dominican models were adapted and implemented in El Salvador. Subsequently, El Salvador also established its own LEDAs in Usulután and La Unión, which triggered many positive spillover effects on the poorest groups of the population and other traditionally excluded groups such as women and youth.  Since 2013, all stakeholders have started participating financially to ensure the sustainability of the LEDAs, of which they have taken ownership. As a result of the momentum spawned by that first exchange in 2011, and of the concrete results it generated at the local level, this SSC experience has been recognized as a best practice, and received the Global Partnership Award in South-South cooperation, delivered by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation.