New York, 17 September 2023 – Silatech has announced a partnership with BRAC, the world’s largest development organization, to promote youth income generation through financial inclusion and unlock access to finance for 684,212 youth in Bangladesh to become self-employed.

The project, Unlocking Financial Solutions for Youth Enterprise Development was signed on the sidelines of the 78^th edition of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York today.

It aims to address the lack of access to traditional financing resources for the youth of Bangladesh who seek to sustain, start, or expand their income-generating ventures.

Over the course of three years, the project will provide financing products to young people who do not have access to traditional banking services. Moreover, it will offer financial literacy and entrepreneurial training programs to enhance the sustainability of their ventures and improve the financial literacy and capabilities of youth entrepreneurs.

The lack of access to formal financing is a significant challenge for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh, with the World Bank estimating a financing gap of US$2.8 billion. This gap is particularly pronounced for women-led SMEs, as 60 percent of them lack collateral.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated these challenges, leading to reduced income, job loss, and limited financial access for youth. The project seeks to bridge this financial gap and create meaningful economic opportunities for young people and their families.

“By promoting youth income generation through financial inclusion and empowering Bangladesh’s youth, we are confident that this project will significantly improve their livelihoods, create more employment opportunities within their ventures, and drive sustainable economic growth. Bangladesh has a huge youth population with few opportunities as it is the densest country in the world, and we are excited to partner with BRAC, the world’s largest development organization to help reduce the suffering of many youths due to lack of access to financial solutions” said Hassan Al Mulla, Silatech CEO.

Asif Saleh, the Executive Director of BRAC said, “BRAC believes in the power of youth to drive economic growth. We are extending microfinance services and combining it with financial literacy, and entrepreneurship training to young entrepreneurs from marginalized backgrounds. Our client-centric approach ensures tailored financial products, while mentorship and capacity building would help the young entrepreneurs fuel the growth of their businesses. We are excited to be partnering with Silatech in testing this innovative model to support young entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. This will help us not only to design more effective products but also understand and manage risks better.”

This partnership marks an important step towards youth economic empowerment and creating a more equitable and prosperous future for disadvantaged communities.

Silatech, a non-government non-profit, socio-economic development organization that empowers youth through capacity building, direct job placement and enterprise development for marginalized communities worldwide, has launched a powerful youth dialogue series at the side-lines of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly that will help youth turn challenges into opportunities within an economic development context and through employment creation in the Middle East, North Africa region and beyond.

Within the event framework, a partnership agreement has been announced between Silatech and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). It will further create socio- economic opportunities for unemployed youth in MENA.

The partnership will launch a program together with Education for Employment Foundation (EFE) in Morocco, aiming to connect youth with decent employment. Silatech and BMGF will continue to explore interventions to advance employment opportunities in other countries in the region.

A key component of the initiative is highlighting the importance and urgency of promoting youth re-skilling and capacity building to achieve decent employment for young men and women among diverse industry sectors.

The inaugural Silatech Youth Dialogue Series, UNGA Edition held with the participation of Generation Unlimited, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Permanent Mission of Qatar to the UN, was themed “The Role of Youth Socio-Economic Empowerment in Achieving Global Resilience in the Covid-19 Era.”

 The Youth Dialogue Series featured remarks by young men and women advocates representing several countries and advocacy groups from around the world to explore innovative ideas and solutions that address the challenges young people endure worldwide in alignment with the UN Youth Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

On occasion of the event, HE Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed Al Thani, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the UN, commented: “The Covid- 19 pandemic has had a serious impact on young workers and those transitioning to employment, particularly young women. Qatar based organizations are actively working to provide youth with the necessary skills and connecting them from learning to employment.”

Hassan Ali AlMulla, CEO Silatech, said: “The instability of the economic landscape continues to place marginalized youth at greater risk of forced displacement, thereby inhibiting their capabilities to achieve their full potential. They are the evolutionary

catalyst that fuels change to a better future, and therefore our collaborative efforts are crucial to navigate this paradigm shift in the post-Covid19 marketplace.”

Dr Kevin Frey, CEO Generation Unlimited, commented:  “Young people today represent one-quarter of the world’s population – a generation of this magnitude has enormous opportunity to transform economic and social outcomes in line with the Social Development Goals.Yet, this is a world that is increasingly challenging for young people to navigate. With such profound shifts on the horizon, we have to take action, accelerating scalable, investable ideas and innovations that can support young people to acquire the skills they need to thrive in the world of work.“

Hassan Damluji, Deputy Director – Middle East and East Asia, at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said: “Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on young people around the world, making it harder for them to access and ramp up the skills they need to build their livelihoods. This is why we are proud to work alongside Silatech to help create opportunities for the youth in Morocco, a country where 30 percent of the population is under the age of 15. As we emerge from the pandemic, this grant will help young Moroccans access trainings, job matching, and job placements in high-demand sectors, thereby providing them with opportunities to help build more resilient communities. Education for Employment is an ideal partner to execute on this ambition, given its extensive experience in youth empowerment across the Middle East and North Africa.”

The Partnership includes a Joint Initiative to Advocate and Promote
Youth Rights

DOHA, 8 July, 2019

The CEO of Silatech, Ms. Sabah al Haidoos met the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs. Michelle Bachelet in Geneva on July 4th and agreed to cooperate in a partnership to develop initiatives and programmes for global youth empowerment in alignment with international human rights treaties and agreements. This partnership is a milestone and the outcome of the strategic meeting that took place between Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser (may God protect her), the Founder and Chairperson of Silatech’s Board of Trustees and the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the margins of Silatech’s High Level Forum in Geneva on 4th March, 2019.

The partnership between Silatech and UN High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) will promote the rights of young people and focus on their right to decent work and a decent life in alignment with international human rights treaties and agreements.

The proposed areas of partnership between Silatech and the UN High Commission for Human Rights are mainly youth empowerment programmes and programmes and initiatives to advocate for global youth issues.

Commenting on this partnership, Silatech’s CEO, Ms. Sabah Al Haidoos stated; “We are very pleased to have this strategic and valuable partnership with the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights represented by the High Commissioner, Mrs. Michelle Bachelet. In this partnership, we have agreed to take immediate action to make sure that its deliverables are executed promptly and on a timely basis. Firstly, we have introduced an integrated framework and project for the partnership that illustrates the theme, “Youth empowerment in the light of global human rights system”. This framework will highlight the relationship between youth and human rights and promote advocacy programmes and initiatives on broader issues affecting young people”.

“Silatech has suggested we have a joint initiative to promote youth rights in areas of armed conflict and in fragile states. It will help protect those who suffer from discrimination and grave human rights violations. The initiative aims at reforming national laws, strategies and plans that are related to youth” added Al Haidoos.

Silatech has recently been actively involved in establishing strategic partnerships as part of its ongoing pursuit to economically and socially empower youth, and to achieve some of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, as well as several the United Nations’ Youth Strategy 2030 priorities. Such partnerships include but are not limited to organisations such as the World Health Organisation, the International Labour Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research among others.

DOHA, 6 March, 2019

Describing the role of Silatech foundation in providing more than 1,100,000 jobs as pioneering work, the participants at Silatech high-level event in Geneva urged the international community to do more to address unemployment. They also stressed the importance of investing in youth development to contribute to the promotion of economy and peace for the security of the whole world, and to implement the international strategy against terrorism, especially as young people are the foundation of the renaissance of nations.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi stressed the importance of listening to the voice of young people, adding that they have always been followers and now they should be leaders, stressing the importance of investment to employ young refugees in host countries, describing the achievement of Silatech and its success in providing more than one mn jobs for young people as a leading role.

For her part, United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth Jayathma Wickramanayake said that poverty leads to social exclusion and marginalisation, noting that 64mn young people are unemployed while 70mn workers still live in extreme poverty.

Catalist & Chief founder of Jokkolabs Mr. Karim Sy said that it’s a must to adopt creative solutions to empower youth specially in Africa, the richest continent of youth.

“How do you deal with a doubling population every 20 years? We need innovation, we need to do things totally differently, technology allows that, it is incredibly powerful. The technology is bringing us the opportunity to work together. We can bring new solutions, we can think different, for farming, for energy, for education. We can invent a new path”, added Mr. Sy.

Ambassador for Silatech, Chaker Khazaal, said that young people need to build bridges of communication rather than walls.
As a former refugee, he has learned that he must cling to hope, adding that the world is dark, but hope must be upheld because it is the only way to the life of any refugee and thanks to organisations like Silatech, there must be the belief that tomorrow will be better.

Speaker Chris Gardner, Author of In the Pursuit of Happyness called for action to tackle unemployment.
He also thanked Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Silatech’s Board of Trustees and Advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals, for her efforts in order to enable the youth and provide them with job opportunities through Silatech.

He added that Silatech’s work on empowering and improving the lives of young people is more important than ever, especially in a world that grows darker and more frightening every day.

The participants, including politicians and officials of the United Nations, the European Union and prominent international organisations, agreed that the provision of employment opportunities for young people is a key to economic development and real investment in any country.
Prime Minister of Somalia Hassan Ali Khayre said 70% of Somalia’s population is young and every job opportunity is an investment in the country’s future.
He added that the youth in the population in his country can be a positive or negative factor. If provided with the skills of entrepreneurship they would be the backbone of economic growth but ignoring them and not providing them with employment opportunities will make them a cause of instability and conflict.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and former president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, said youth are partners in change and benefit from it, and their voices must be heard.

She highlighted the importance of youth’s role, their empowerment, investing in them and interacting with them.

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Silatech and UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocate, had announced on Monday that youth will receive 3mn employment opportunities globally by 2022, calling for more partners to help raise that number to 5mn.

Silatech is an international, social, non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Qatar established by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser in 2008 which aims to combat unemployment, extremism, and marginalisation of young people and women through employment and economic empowerment initiatives.
Silatech is empowering young people to lead change and improve their lives and communities for the better.

Silatech announced that the fundraising campaign for refugees will continue until the end of October. The announcement was made during the live broadcast for donations that aired on Al Rayyan TV.During the broadcast that took place at the Mall of Qatar, Al Rayyan TV interviewed the youth driving the campaign and some prominent figures in the Qatari community about the importance of economically empowering young refugees and internally displaced persons.

They also discussed the influential role Qatari youth play as global citizens in addressing international challenges, particularly the refugee crisis, through charity and volunteer work.
In his Interview, The Executive Director of Programs at Silatech, Mr. Faisal Al Emadi highlighted the support for the campaign on various levels. “The interaction and the support for the campaign from everyone, including youth, citizens, expatriates, individuals and institutions in all sectors, embodies the deep-rooted culture of charity and volunteering work and the values of goodness and giving in the State of Qatar”, said Mr. Faisal.

In response to the commitment of youth, citizens and residents of Qatar to help alleviate the suffering of refugees and internally displaced persons, and the organization’s belief that achieving peace and stability everywhere in the world starts from combating poverty, unemployment, extremism, and marginalizing young men and women through empowering them and providing them with jobs, Silatech launched a humanitarian campaign entitled “Charitable competition to support young refugees and internally displaced persons” at a press conference held today.

The initiative seeks to involve the youth of Qatar and the Qatari community in providing humanitarian assistance and solutions to the Syrian crisis of refugees and displaced persons worldwide. It also contributes to enhancing the role of youth as global citizens to address the major global challenges, in particular the issue of refugees and displaced persons, and promote a sense of compassion and responsibility towards their peer disadvantaged youth.

led by 30 young men and women in Qatar competing to mobilize funds to generate jobs for 30 thousand young refugees within 30 days, the campaign aims at providing refugees and their families with decent livelihood opportunities and enable them to improve their lives.

During the press conference, Mr. Faisal Al Emadi, Executive Director of Programs at Silatech said: “Silatech works to connect disadvantaged and marginalized youth with opportunities: vocational training opportunities and the development of skills required by employers, employment opportunities, and support funding them to establish income-generating enterprises, especially youth in conflict and crisis affected areas.”

Al Emadi stressed on dedicating 12^th of October 2018 for donations through live broadcast that will be hosted by Al Rayan TV and in Mall of Qatar from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm where everyone is invited to support youth to collect enough donations to create job opportunities for Syrian refugees. Donations will be through the live broadcast or all communication channels announced by Al Rayyan TV throughout the month of October.

This campaign, spearheaded by Youth in Qatar, was launched under the sponsorship and with the support of various partners from all sectors contributing to the efforts of the State of Qatar and its pioneering humanitarian and developmental role to help neighboring societies in general and the refugees in particular. It is based on the unity of the government and its people as a single body for promoting charity and philanthropy. The State of Qatar is at the top of the list of donor countries that provide humanitarian and development assistance worldwide; an active humanitarian role that contributes to its achievement and continuity all segments of Qatar’s society.

During the press conference, Sheikh Ahmed Al Buainain, Muslim preacher, said: “The worsening of the tragic situation of refugees and internally displaced persons requires our support by providing them with decent work and thus saving entire families children, women and old people from poverty. Allah said: “The believers are but brothers”, We see our young people embarking on their good deeds, out of their awareness of the nation’s issues and the major events happening, and their sense of responsibility towards their fellow refugees.”

Habes Howail. Head of External Relations at Qatar Foundation and representative of the youth in the competition said:” We are all aware of the suffering of our fellow refugees in this ongoing tragedy, an issue that has many economic and social dimensions that affects not only the lives of the refugees and his host society but also affects us all in terms of the security and prosperity of our nation. We are part of a wider and interconnected world, our prosperity and stability is part of theirs. We have been taught by our country these values. We, as young people of Qatar, have to contribute to alleviating refugee of their sufferings. We feel obliged to give back to our country that provides us with safety and security while young people like us live among wars and displacement. “

“It is with great honor for our young people to lead this campaign for their brothers and sisters who do not enjoy the same opportunities, to be role models for giving, and to compete for the good of others. We thank all the partner institutions that have not spared efforts to support this humanitarian campaign. This is a living example of the culture of the State of Qatar for humanitarian and charitable work, the high values inherent in the Qatari society, residents and citizens, individuals and institutions, and across all sectors. We look forward to collecting enough donations to provide sources of livelihoods for these unprivileged youth” Al Emadi concluded.

The tragedy of refugees is not limited to fleeing their countries in search of safety. It has cost them the loss of family and loved ones, and the image of the Syrian child “Elan” who died on the shores of Turkey is still fresh in our memories. These refugees who survived the war or the death brokers face complicated problems and lack of access to suitable work, for reasons including lack of proficiency in the language of the host country, inadequate experience with labor market requirements, lack of required educational qualifications in the host country’s labor market or because they had to leave their studies and could not obtain a university degree that would enable them to find decent work, or simply because of the poor economic situation in the host country.

Silatech has responded to the refugee crises wherever they are and has devised customized programs to provide them with employment opportunities, training, and skills development to get jobs in their new lives. For example, Silatech has implemented various programs to support thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons in various countries, such as ad hoc programs that trained and employed thousands of Syrian refugees in Turkey, the program of supporting youth entrepreneurs in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and a program to train internally displaced youth in Syria and provide them with tools and workshops to work on future projects. In addition, Silatech implemented an economic empowerment program for battered, disabled, refugee and displaced women in Sudan, as well as many other programs to train and employ young men and women displaced by conflicts and natural disasters in Somalia.

The proactive and inclusive vision of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, which sees youth as the foundation of the renaissance of nations if they are empowered and linked to employment opportunities, has proved successful over the past ten years through providing one million jobs for young people which have changed the lives of entire families and communities to the better in 17 countries in the Middle East and North Africa from the countries in which Silatech operates to support youth employment, including young refugees and displaced persons.

Young people have always been the focus of Silatech’s work, and in light of the difficult economic conditions experienced by refugees and their families, this campaign is a continuation of the organization’s hard work in fighting poverty and youth unemployment, which is one of the most pressing problems in our Arab world.

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Naseer, Chairperson of Silatech’s Board of Trustees, and His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Isse Awad The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of The Federal Republic of Somalia, attended today in New York City today the signing of three agreements to economically empower Somali youth by securing more than 75,000 jobs in Somalia.

A collaboration between Silatech, American Refugee Committee (ARC) and the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the first agreement aims to provide housing and energy solutions for 1,000 families and develop local youth owned enterprises; creating around 3,000 jobs for returning refugees and IDPs in the Kismayo district. The second agreement is to support Al Amal bank in financing youth enterprises to create 63,414 jobs around Somalia. In partnership with the Somali Institute for Development and Research Analysis (SIDRA), the purpose of the third agreement is to build the skills of 9,000 graduates and place them into jobs in the labor market.

As part of its continuous efforts to empower youth in Somalia and activate their role in developing their communities, Silatech signed the three agreements to provide solutions to combat unemployment, poverty, marginalization and extremism. Silatech also focuses on economically empowering women in Somalia and engaging them in promoting peace and security in their societies.

Furthermore, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Naseer, Chairperson of Silatech’s Board of Trustees, has attended the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Silatech, the United Nations Democracy Fund, and Tamkeen for Development to collaborate within their respective mandates and their common goals in the area of improving youth empowerment and participation and skills developments based on the World Programme of Action for Youth. The MoU aims at engendering, promoting and strengthening youth engagement, skills development, entrepreneurship and improving employability in countries or regions of mutual interest.

Since its inception in 2008, Silatech has secured one million jobs for youth through working in coordination with governments and international organizations and in cooperation with its partners to design and implement programs that uproot youth out of poverty and chronic unemployment, thus empowering them to contribute to the socioeconomic development of their countries.

Doha, 4^thof September 2018:Silatech has created and launched an exciting opportunity for youth from every corner of the world to share their talents in graphic design through the Youth Icon competition.

As part of Silatech’s initiatives aiming at empowering youth and promote their role in their societies, the competition provides a unique opportunity to engage talented youth in designing an icon that represent youth on an international level. The winning design will be adopted as the youth icon of Silatech, an organization that aims to combat youth unemployment and economically empower youth through connecting them to job opportunities and resources.

The competition calls upon youth aged between 18 and 35 to submit their creative design. Deadline for submissions is October 18^th, 2018, and the winner will be announced on November 11^th, 2018.

The winner & creator of the icon will participate in launching it at an International event, the light will be shed on his/ her work and the design and will gain recognition in international and local media outlets as well as all Silatech social media platforms, along with other prizes to support and motivate the winner in their work.

The jury will be composed of many experts in the art and design field, including experts of

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), a renowned university in the field.

Details of the application process and the terms and conditions are available on Silatech’s website http://silatech.org/youth-icon-competition.

Silatech seeks to achieve the dreams of youth to live a decent life and achieve a world that allows them to work and participate in the economic development of their societies. It works to connect youth to jobs and economic opportunities and jobs through innovative enterprise development and employment initiatives. Over the last ten years, Silatech has secured around 900,000 jobs for youth in 17 countries.

In line with International Youth Day, Silatech highlights its commitment to connecting Arab youth to job opportunities in the Arab world.

The theme of the 2016 International Youth Day is “The Road to 2030: Eradicating Poverty and Achieving Sustainable Consumption and Production”, is a critical priority in the Arab world. Through its mandate, Silatech has been working closely with partners to mobilize resources, and create innovative projects and initiatives to achieve tangible results in creating an effective economic environment that ensures jobs for young people and to promote the economic and social stability.

Ms. Sabah Al Haidoos, Acting Chief Executive of Silatech commented: “Since its inception in 2008, Silatech has been a pioneer in creating initiatives and programs that work on improving the social and financial stability of youth through connecting them to jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities suitable to their qualifications in addition to active civil engagement to contribute to the development of their communities.”

Since the Arab world suffers from the world’s highest rate of youth unemployment of 30%; Silatech seeks to unlock Arab youth potentials by developing innovative solutions to dispel the obstacles they face and help them change their lives for the better.

By early 2016, the regional organization has successfully financed over 120,000 youth-owned businesses, created or sustained over 200,000 jobs through its innovative programs and initiatives in in 16 Arab countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Comoros, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.

Silatech has been strengthening its efforts in supporting Arab youth and connecting them with jobs opportunities through its strategy that focuses on three programs: Employment, Enterprise and Research & Policy. Ta3mal.com, the first online portal that supports Arab workforce development across the Middle East and Africa region, is one of the most prominent initiatives in the region. It provides career guidance, job search assistance and professional skills enhancement with localized versions in eight countries across MENA: Egypt, Qatar, Iraq, Tunisia, Lebanon, Morocco, Algeria, and Palestine, as well as the anticipated launch of Ta3mal portal for Syrian refugees. To date, the regional network of Ta3mal portals benefits more than 400,000 registered users.

As for Enterprise, Silatech works with leading microfinance institutions across the region to provide young entrepreneurs with loans to help them start an income-generating projects that involve additional job opportunities for youth in their communities. For example, “Bodour” initiative in the Kingdom of Morocco, which seeks to support and facilitate financing services to young entrepreneurs across the country through two products: business expansion loan and business start-up loan. The initiative aims to create 165,000 job by 2020.

In addition, Silatech is keen to enable the Sudanese youth to find productive jobs, where it worked to establish and launch specialized microfinance programs to enable more than 40,000 job opportunities for entrepreneurs by encouraging financial institutions to lend young people, and by providing a combination of technical support and innovative financing instruments.

As for Research and Policy, Silatech works closely with the Arab governments and international organizations to study the policies that directly affect young people, and work to modify them and dispel the obstacles they face. In addition, Silatech has adopted the first Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report in the State of Qatar, where they carried out a national survey on entrepreneurship status in Qatar comparing to other participating countries. The survey focused on entrepreneurship frameworks that affect entrepreneurship activities in Qatar, including financing, government policies, entrepreneurship programs, as well as  research and development, governmental and legal infrastructure, and physical infrastructure.

Ms. Al Haidoos concluded: “Complementing its leading role and working towards achieving its vision of an Arab world where youth can work and participate in the economic development of their communities; we will continue to create innovative initiatives in collaboration with our partners in the Arab world that youth can best benefit from.”