Oman’s Public Authority for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises (Riyada) recently organized a three-day “Build Your Business” master training program in cooperation with Silatech.

This training marks the first step in a larger partnership between Riyada and Silatech, including collaboration on Riyada’s Entrepreneurship Award, research to track the progress and obstacles faced by entrepreneurs in establishing or expanding their business, as well as programs to encourage and empower social entrepreneurs.

Silatech Acting CEO Mohammed Al Naimi welcomed the collaboration with Riyada, saying “Silatech will be significantly increasing our engagement in Oman, and we look forward to working with dynamic and forward-thinking organizations like Riyada to help unlock the full potential of Omani youth.”

For his part, Riyada CEO Khalifa bin Said Al Abri said “The Build Your Business program is the first step in cooperation with our Qatari partner Silatech. The blended approach of the program, which combines classroom instruction and e-learning, will help to train and empower Omani business pioneers.”

The program took place in Muscat during September 15-17, and was conducted as a “Training of Trainers” to enhance the capacity of Oman-based facilitators to deliver the Build Your Business (BYB) program directly to young Omani entrepreneurs. Build Your Business includes 14 thematic units taught over 30 hours of instruction; it uses a unique blended learning approach in which skills are introduced online, and then reinforced with in-person classroom instruction. The instruction is also coupled with practical, hands-on activities conducted in the community.

The workshop aimed to strengthen the capacity for the Sultanate of Oman to provide Build Your Business training directly to the owners of small and medium enterprises and help them in learning how to establish and strengthen their businesses.

Build Your Business (BYB) is a comprehensive, interactive training course designed to support aspiring young entrepreneurs by introducing them to the basic principles needed to successfully launch, lead and scale up very small businesses, or “microenterprises.” Originally developed by the International Youth Foundation and Microsoft, BYB has been used by more than 300 organizations in 20 countries.

Based in Doha, Silatech is a regional social initiative which works with over 100 partners in 15 countries throughout the Arab world to help young Arabs find jobs and start businesses. Since being founded in 2008, Silatech has financed and supported over 90,000 youth-owned businesses, and created or sustained over 140,000 jobs. The partnership with Riyada marks Silatech’s first program activity in Oman.

On June 16, Silatech signed an agreement in Khartoum with the Sudan Rural Development Company (SRDC) to provide entrepreneurship training for 1000 Sudanese youth. Signed by Silatech Deputy CEO Raed Al Emadi and Sudan Rural Development Company General Manager Dr. Jafar Farah, the agreement marks the first major program Silatech has undertaken to date in Sudan.

The training comes as part of a microfinance program in which the SRDC will provide approximately USD 1 million total to finance businesses of the 1000 selected entrepreneurs upon the completion of their ten-day entrepreneurship training course. Financed by Silatech and conducted through local implementation partner “Do Solutions,” the ten-day program will be conducted shortly after Ramadan.

A large number of the 1000 youth entrepreneurs who will take part in the training attended the June 16 ceremony, along with numerous other Sudanese dignitaries and officials, including government ministers, regional governors, and executives from top Sudanese financial institutions. The event took place at the Presidential Hall, and was held under the patronage of HE Dr. Abdul Rahman Hassan, Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan.

Silatech is a regional social initiative that works with partners throughout the Arab world to provide employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people. Silatech is currently working with 30 microfinance institutions in 11 countries throughout the region, and has to date enabled more than 90,000 youth-run businesses to start and grow, supporting more than 140,000 youth jobs. Silatech is the Arab region’s largest provider of youth-focused microenterprise services.

Microcred Tunisia has announced the launch of “Irada,” a new loan product designed especially for young startup entrepreneurs. Designed in partnership with regional social initiative Silatech, Irada is expected to finance around 450 startup businesses in Tunisia over a three year period.

In addition to providing expertise in designing Irada, Silatech is providing loan capital as well as training to help Microcred loan officers support and coach young startup entrepreneurs during the pre- and post-financing phases. Irada is supported as well by the European Union, AFD, UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Making Cents International and Planet Finance.

Irada is one of a new group of loan products designed for young startup entrepreneurs that Silatech is helping microfinance institutions in the region to bring to the market in 2015.

Responding to the regional youth unemployment crisis, these products have been designed to enable youth to create jobs not only for themselves, but also for other youth, as their businesses succeed and grow.

Youth unemployment in the Arab World stands at 30 percent—the highest of any region in the world. In Tunisia, the rate stands at 31 percent.

According to the World Bank, youth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have the world’s lowest levels of financial access, meaning that young would-be entrepreneurs are frequently prevented from starting businesses because they cannot get access to finance. It is estimated that there is a financing gap for micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the region of $320 – 380 billion.

Silatech CEO Mohammed Al Naimi commented on this new partnership: “Tunisia is a country of focus for Silatech, and this partnership with Microcred represents an innovative response to the youth unemployment crisis in the region. He added, “The Irada project will play a key role in turning job seekers into business owners, creating jobs for other youth as they grow their businesses and contribute to the economic development of the country.

Innovative financial institutions such as Microcred also stand to gain from targeting the startup market, as the larger financing amounts required by this cohort can generate higher profits. Younger clients can offer substantial lifetime value, and institutions can gain significant positive visibility by implementing meaningful solutions in the fight against youth unemployment.

According to Bodo Lieberam, CEO of Microcred Tunisie, the first disbursement of the Irada loan has taken place this week. Microcred Tunisie granted a loan of 4,500 TDN to a 25 year old entrepreneur that will open a shop for dried fruits and other alimentary goods in his quarter of Ezzahrouni, close to the first branch of Microcred Tunisie. “Those young people are full of energy and ideas, but what is lacking is funding to start a new business. But our support is much broader than just funding. We train the people in management, basic accounting, legal aspects and commercialization and help them doing their business plan. The conditions of the loan are adapted to the situation of each individual client. After the disbursement of the loan we coach the young entrepreneur in order to increase the chances of success.

Microcred Tunisie is a subsidiary of the Microcred Group, whose mission is to provide accessible and quality financial services as well as support tailored to people excluded or underserved by the traditional financial system, especially MSMEs. Microcred Group has operations in France, Madagascar, Senegal, China, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Mali, with Microcred Tunisie launching operations in November 2014.

Silatech is a regional social initiative that works with partners throughout the Arab world to provide employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people. Silatech is currently working with 30 microfinance institutions in 11 countries throughout the region, and has to date enabled more than 90,000 youth-run businesses to start and grow, supporting more than 140,000 youth jobs. Silatech is the Arab region’s largest provider of youth financial services.

With unemployment among Arab youth the highest of any region in the world—climbing above 29 percent in 2014, over 350 leaders and practitioners from civil society, government, and the private sector have gathered in Amman to share innovative and effective approaches to addressing the region’s youth employment challenge.

Organized by regional social initiative Silatech and hosted by the International Youth Foundation (IYF), the three-day conference on Arab Youth Employment: Promoting Innovative Solutions to Longstanding Challenges was launched today in Amman’s Landmark Hotel. The conference is being sponsored by the World Bank’s Solutions for Youth Employment Coalition and the Americana Group. It is also supported by the Jordan Chamber of Industry.

The conference will give special attention to the process of developing successful youth employment policies and initiatives, and creating opportunities for practitioners to replicate and grow effective programs throughout the region.

Silatech Acting CEO Mohammed Al Naimi welcomed delegates from over 30 countries at the opening of the conference, stressing the importance of learning from the experiences of others in order to design programs and policies that directly improve the economic prospects of young people. He stated: “We are gathered here in Amman for two main reasons. One, to share our findings and insights about the effectiveness of various youth-serving programs and policies; and, two, to form collaborations and partnerships to scale up and replicate successful programs. Knowledge sharing and action must be linked closely together if we are to achieve real and lasting impact for the youth of our region.”

Said International Youth Foundation CEO William S. Reese, “We’re here to discuss current trends, gaps, and best practice approaches for providing today’s Arab youth with the training and support they need to succeed in the face of high rates of youth unemployment across the region. Experience tells us there are no quick fixes, but that by working together—combining our collective resources and expertise—there’s much we can do to create opportunities for an emerging generation of youth with much to contribute to their communities and nations.”

During the day’s first plenary session—“Rethinking the Youth Employment Challenge”— HE Dr. Nidal Katamine, Minister of Labor of Jordan, Dr. Omar Razzaz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Jordan Ahli Bank, and HE Dr. Talal Abu Ghazaleh, Founder and Chair of the Talal Abu Ghazaleh Organization, discussed why the youth employment challenge has been such a longstanding and difficult problem for the region, and ways in which the public sector, private sector, civil society and the NGO community can work together to address the issue.

During the three-day conference, participants will share lessons and experiences about a wide variety of topics related to youth employment, including the following:

• Innovations in youth enterprise financing;
• Engaging the private sector for youth employment;
• The importance of monitoring and evaluation of programs;
• Achieving scale and resilience in employment initiatives through technology;
• Partnerships in policy making;
• Enabling entrepreneurship ecosystems and alliances;
• Private sector-driven solutions for scaling up initiatives.

Contributing partners leading sessions during the three-day conference include the World Bank, the International Labor Organization, Oasis 500 (Jordan), Tamweelcom (Jordan), Mowgli (UK), Save the Children, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Beyond Reform and Development (Lebanon), the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (USA), Ahead of the Curve (Egypt), Tawasul (Oman), the RAND Corporation (USA), and Future First Global. Furthermore, policy makers from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia are participating in the conference.

Policy makers, NGO representatives, and private sector leaders from over 30 countries will gather in Amman from April 28-30 to share solutions and form partnerships to address the challenge of youth unemployment in the Arab world. Organized by regional social initiative Silatech and hosted by the International Youth Foundation (IYF), the “Arab Youth Employment: Promoting Innovative Solutions to Longstanding Challenges” conference will showcase innovative, evidence-based approaches to youth employment that are being implemented by leading youth-serving organizations from throughout the region and the world. The conference is being sponsored by the World Bank and the Americana Group. It is also supported by the Jordan Chamber of Industry.

While youth unemployment is a global challenge, the need for scalable, effective youth employment programs is particularly urgent in the Arab world, as youth unemployment in the Arab countries is the highest of any region in the world, and continues to grow. The jobless rate among Arab youth has increased from 24% in 2009 to 29% in 2014, while entrepreneurship has declined over the same period.

During the three-day conference, participants will share lessons and experiences about a wide variety of topics related to youth employment, including financing for young entrepreneurs, engaging the private sector for youth skills development, the benefits of technology in employment solutions, social enterprises and inclusive business models, and many more. The conference will give special attention to the process of creating successful youth employment policies and initiatives and creating opportunities for practitioners to replicate and grow effective programs throughout the region.

Acting Silatech CEO Mohammed Al Naimi and International Youth Foundation CEO William S. Reese will open the conference with welcoming remarks on Tuesday, April 28. A member of the Silatech Board of Trustees and Executive Committee, Mohammed Al Naimi became Acting CEO of Silatech on April 1 following the recent departure of Dr. Tarik M. Yousef, who served as Silatech CEO from mid-2011 through March 2015.

High profile policy makers slated to address the event will include HE Dr. Nidale Katamine, Minister of Labor (Jordan), HE Eng. Adel Fakeih, Minister of Labor (KSA), and HE Dr. Talal Abu Ghazaleh, Founder and Chair of the Talal Abu Ghazaleh Organization (Jordan). Other policy makers from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia will be participating in the conference as well.

Leading organizations represented at the conference will include the World Bank, the International Labor Organization, Oasis 500 (Jordan), Tamweelcom (Jordan), Mowgli (UK), Save the Children, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Beyond Reform and Development (Lebanon), the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (USA), Ahead of the Curve (Egypt), Tawasul (Oman), Rwaq (KSA), the RAND Corporation (USA), Al Amal Microfinance Bank (Yemen), Ruwwad (Jordan), the Jordan Federation of Tourism Associations, Bayt.com, Injaz Jordan, MicroCred (Tunisia), World Learning, the Egyptian National Competitiveness Council, Silicon Baadia, IHEC Carthage (Tunisia), and GIZ (Germany).

Conference registration is open now. For more information about “Arab Youth Employment: Promoting Innovative Solutions to Longstanding Challenges,” see the conference Website at www.aye2015.org.

Twenty credit officers from Jordanian micro-credit company Tamweelcom learned how to better serve the youth market during a two-day “training of trainers” workshop conducted in Amman by regional social initiative Silatech. The training, which took place April 7-8, complements the introduction of Amal Al Shabab (“Hope of the Youth”), a soon-to-be-launched loan product for youth-owned startup microenterprises developed jointly by Tamweelcom and Silatech.

Designed especially for the youth startup market, Amal Al Shabab is expected to finance approximately 3,000 startup businesses in Jordan over a three year period, creating or sustaining an estimated 4,500 jobs as a result.

Youth unemployment in the Arab World stands at 28 percent—the highest of any region in the world. In Jordan, youth unemployment tops 30 percent.

Amal Al Shabab is one of a new breed of youth startup products that Silatech is helping microfinance institutions in the region to bring to the market in 2015.

Responding to the regional youth unemployment crisis, these products have been designed to enable youth to create jobs not only for themselves, but also for other youth, as their businesses succeed and grow.

Innovative financial institutions such as Tamweelcom also stand to gain from targeting the startup market, as the larger financing amounts required by this cohort can general higher profits. Younger clients can offer substantial lifetime value, and institutions can gain significant positive visibility by implementing meaningful solutions in the fight against youth unemployment.

During the workshop, Silatech representatives trained the credit officers about the details of the Amal Al Shabab product, outlined approaches and communications techniques for youth, and advised on more accurate and relevant criteria to use when screening loan applicants.

Tamweelcom is a pioneering Jordanian non-profit microfinance company that endeavors to fight poverty and unemployment. It is wholly owned by the Noor Al-Hussein Foundation (King Hussein Foundation). More than 300,000 clients, 94% of whom are women, have received funding since Tamweelcom’s inception in 1999.

Silatech is currently working with 30 microfinance institutions in 11 countries throughout the region, and has to date enabled more than 80,000 youth-run businesses to start and grow, supporting more than 130,000 youth jobs. Silatech is the Arab region’s largest provider of youth financial services.

Silatech, a regional social initiative, and the International Youth Foundation (IYF), a global youth development organization, are jointly announcing plans to hold a three-day conference designed to develop and implement solutions to the region’s growing youth unemployment crisis. The event, “Arab Youth Employment: Promoting Innovative Solutions to Longstanding Challenges,” is expected to draw over 350 delegates from throughout the Arab world, including representatives from leading NGOs and civil society organizations, policymakers, leaders from the private sector, researchers and the media to share insights and build effective partnerships to support Arab youth employment.

Youth unemployment in the Arab countries is the highest of any region in the world, and is growing. The jobless rate among Arab youth has increased from 24% in 2009 to 29% in 2014, while entrepreneurship has declined over the same period.

Organized by Silatech and hosted by IYF, the conference will be held at the Landmark Amman Hotel in Amman from April 28-30, 2015. This year’s event builds upon the success of the 2013 “Arab Youth & Entrepreneurship” conference in Doha, which brought together delegates from throughout the region to enhance youth entrepreneurship and economic opportunities at the grassroots level.

The conference itself is innovative in its approach, with a crowd-sourced agenda that features 18 sessions that are being organized by over 20 contributing partners – leading youth-serving organizations from across the region and the world.  The content will showcase the rich knowledge and innovative approaches that are being developed throughout the region.

The contributing partners organizing sessions at the conference include the World Bank, the International Labor Organization, Oasis 500, Tamweelcom, Mowgli, Save the Children, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, Ahead of the Curve, and the RAND Corporation.

Silatech is a regional social initiative that works with partners throughout the Arab world to create jobs and expand economic opportunities for young people. The International Youth Foundation (IYF), founded in 1990, is a global leader in youth development focused on education, employment, and citizenship.

Silatech CEO Dr. Tarik M. Yousef described the purpose of the Arab Youth Employment conference, saying “Over the last decade, many initiatives have been introduced throughout the region to fight unemployment and provide opportunities to our youth. Unfortunately, very few of these have made any noticeable impacts at a national level.”

Describing his hopes for the regional gathering, he added: “It is now urgent for us—and I mean all of us—to learn from each other what types of programs work best, and then partner with others to replicate these programs, scale them up, and achieve substantial impact at the national and regional levels. We are proud to be working with IYF and others to bring together leading minds to innovate and find solutions that work.”

IYF’s CEO Bill Reese reinforced the larger purpose of the conference. “While facing great challenges, today’s Arab youth have the enormous potential to boost economic growth in their communities and across the region.  This event brings together the critical players, from every sector, who have the resources and expertise to ensure that potential is realized.  IYF looks forward to working with Silatech and many others to ensure millions more Arab youth have the skills and opportunities they need to find success in the workplace, build their own businesses, and contribute positively to society.”

For more information on the “Arab Youth Employment” conference, see www.aye2015.org.