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Silatech and Grameen-Jameel Microfinance Limited signed an agreement recently for joint co-operation on poverty alleviation and job creation targeted at women and youth in the Arab world.
The agreement was signed by Silatech CEO Dr Tarik M Yousef, and Grameen-Jameel chairman Zaher al-Munajjed.
“The situation in the Arab world requires all of us to work hand in hand to provide the underprivileged and the unemployed with the hope of a better future and the means to achieve it,” said al-Munajjed.
He added: “With Silatech’s experience in youth development and our long experience in supporting the growth of microfinance institutions around the region, we will work together to provide financial and technical support to entrepreneurs - with a focus on youth and women - to combat poverty and unemployment in the Arab world.”
Grameen-Jameel and Silatech will work on introducing microfinance to Arab countries where it has not yet taken root. This will start with a full supply and demand study of the microfinance market in Libya, with the purpose of introducing innovative solutions to help fight poverty and increase the access of low-income persons to finance. Special focus will be given to youth.
“While they are no universal solutions, smartly deployed microenterprise programmes have proven to be one of the most effective and adaptable strategies in the fight against poverty and youth unemployment in the Arab world,” said Silatech’s CEO.
“We are hoping to see Grameen-Jameel join Silatech in launching Narwi, our web-based crowd funding platform for young micro entrepreneurs,” he added.
In addition to the microfinance landscape mapping in the Arab world and a potential partnership on crowd funding, Silatech and Grameen-Jameel will work towards creating a certified training programme to build the capacity of loan officers to support poor entrepreneurs with credit.
This training will focus on youth financing as an integral part.
Silatech is a regional social initiative that works to create jobs and expand economic opportunities for young people throughout the Arab world. With projects in 11 Arab countries, since 2009 Silatech microenterprise partnerships have fully financed over 35,000 businesses and provided assistance to over 200,000 young people.
Grameen-Jameel Microfinance Ltd is the first social business in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.
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