Washington, DC, USA, October 10, 2016—IFC,
a member of the World Bank Group, and the International Labour Organization
(ILO) announced a new partnership today to support entrepreneurship and
skills development among young people in the Middle East and North Africa,
part of a wider effort to foster private sector growth and drive economic
development.
The MENA region has the highest official
unemployment rate of any region in the world and the problem is especially
acute among young people. Nearly a quarter of those under 30 are jobless
and youth unemployment costs the region more than $40 billion annually.
The new partnership will focus on overcoming
the mismatch between supply and demand of skills, sharing knowledge about
trainer networks, and helping schools across the region include soft skills
and entrepreneurial training in their curricula.
“The MENA region is hit particularly
hard with rising youth unemployment and underemployment,” said Ruba Jaradat,
ILO Regional Director for Arab States. “The shared objective of our new
partnership with IFC is to help develop policies that support entrepreneurship,
ensure youth have skills that are required by the market, and encourage
more young people to become entrepreneurs.”
A recent survey by start-up incubator
Wamda, supported by IFC, surveyed 963 entrepreneurs and 1,697 workforce
participants. The survey found that nearly half of entrepreneurs surveyed
struggled to find qualified hires. Job seekers with sales, business development,
and management skills were in particularly short supply. About 40 percent
of employers had trouble finding workers with essential soft skills, like
motivation, independence, and high aptitude.
“Youth unemployment has an impact on
the countries of MENA, creating instability and preventing many regional
economies from reaching their potential,” said Dimitris Tsitsiragos, IFC
Vice President of Global Client Services. “Addressing the challenge of
youth unemployment is essential if nations want to combat poverty and lay
the foundation for sustainable economic growth.”
Mouayed Makhlouf, IFC Director for the
Middle East and North Africa, said: “It is one of IFC’s strategic priorities
in the region to support a favorable business environment for entrepreneurs
as they drive job creation, bring in innovation, and help increase regional
competitiveness.”
The initiative is part of IFC's wider
strategy in the region to support small businesses, encourage entrepreneurship,
expand access to finance, and create jobs. During fiscal year 2016, which
ended in June, IFC committed $1.3 billion in MENA, including $331 million
mobilized from other investors. The organization also launched 20 new projects
to advise both governments and private businesses on issues ranging from
regulatory reform to corporate governance and dispute resolution.
The initiative is also part of the ILO’s
ongoing work to support youth entrepreneurship in the region through capacity
building and education programs targeting government institutions, business
development service providers, private sector associations, entrepreneurs
and education institutions. Since 2013, the ILO’s Know About Business
(KAB) program, which targets youth enrolled in vocational, technical and
higher education, has been rolled out across 366 educational institutions
and reached some 150,000 students throughout MENA. Over the past five years,
its Start and Improve Your Business program targeting small-scale
entrepreneurs has resulted in 510 new enterprises opened and the creation
of 1,345 jobs.
About the ILO
The ILO is the UN’s only tripartite
agency: it brings together government, employer, and worker representatives
of 187 member states to set labor standards, develop policies and devise
programs promoting decent work for all women and men. The ILO promotes
rights at work, encourages decent employment opportunities, enhances social
protection, strengthens dialogue on work-related issues, and promotes sustainable
enterprises for job creation and retention. For more information, visit
www.ilo.org
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group,
is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector
in emerging markets. Working with 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our
six decades of experience to create opportunity where it’s needed most.
In FY16, our long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly
$19 billion, leveraging our capital, expertise, and influence to help the
private sector end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more
information, visit www.ifc.org
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