UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and Silatech signed a cooperation agreement aimed at supporting UNHCR’s protection and assistance activities for refugees and displaced persons globally.
The agreement was signed at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva in a ceremony attended by Ms. Sabah Ismail Al Haidoos, Chief Executive Officer of Silatech and Ms. Kelly T. Clements, Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees.
Spanning a period of five years, the agreement formalizes a commitment by Silatech to support UNHCR’s programmes in the area of livelihoods and economic empowerment with a minimum annual contribution of USD 5 million.

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.