If there was a time entrepreneurship was most needed, these days would be as good a time as any. In the aftermath of the Arab Spring and in the wake of a global financial crisis, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is witnessing high rates of unemployment and is facing mounting pressures to create thousands of jobs every year. Entrepreneurship could help in creating jobs and boosting economic growth but still needs to be supported widely in the region in order to realise its potential. A recent study called “Unlocking Arab Youth Entrepreneurship Potential” finds that students across the MENA region need more hands-on work exposure and entrepreneurship training to better prepare them for the challenges of the region's job market. The report was initiated by Citi Foundation and INJAZ Al-Arab, an organisation that promotes entrepreneurship education training in the Arab world, in partnership with the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The report stated that the capabilities required for success in the 21st century are not taught in schools and universities and that Arab educational systems have largely failed in preparing youths for the labour market. The report said that the region's schools and universities often focus on the dissemination and memorisation of facts rather than the application of such knowledge to analysis or to collaborative problem solving. Little focus is placed on the development of creative thinking or soft skills like leadership, teamwork and communication. Consequently, youth enter the transition from school to work without the competitive edge needed to secure employment in a tight labour market. Moreover, the report said governments, the main employers in the past, cannot absorb the growing number of job seekers, while the private sector is not expanding fast enough to keep pace with population growth. The result of these deficiencies is a gap between educational outcome and labour markets in the region, causing unprecedented unemployment rates and loss of economic prosperity for millions of young people. This gap could be bridged through innovative educational programmes founded on entrepreneurship skills and mindsets. One such endeavour is Company Programme initiated by INJAZ Al-Arab, which offers entrepreneurship training to Egyptian students in schools and universities by exposing them to the fundamental elements of business. During the programme, a group of students work together, with the support of a volunteer from the private sector, to develop a business idea and plan after which they work with the local business community to design and produce their service or product. They also work on developing a marketing plan to sell their product in the community. “After completing the programme, I understood how I can develop a business plan and got introduced to the world of entrepreneurship,” said Bassem Al-Hadi, a participant in the INJAZ Company Programme, during a media roundtable held this week in Cairo. Al-Hadi, 25, managed to start his business, Kijamii, a Cairo-based social media company that develops social media tools for companies. Kijamii now includes 16 employees up from only three since its inception three years ago. Al-Hadi's case showed the effect that entrepreneurship training had on students. The report evaluated Company Programme and its effect on students across six Arab countries, including Egypt. “Consistently, in the six Arab countries, we found that after participating in Company Programme, students became much more capable and more confident in their abilities,” said Fernando Reimers, professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, addressing the media roundtable through video conferencing. Indeed, the report showed that after participating in Company Programme, over 70 per cent of the students said they now feel more confident about their ability to successfully compete in the workplace. Over 74 per cent felt more empowered to take a leadership role in the workplace in the future. Over 80 per cent said they understood the importance of managing their finances. Between 67 per cent and 89 per cent of participants said they had developed their career goals. More than 63 per cent said they now know more about entrepreneurship and over 60 per cent said they are now more interested in starting their own business. The report revealed that most students said the programme had helped them develop the capacity to innovate as well as develop many business skills such as leadership, problem solving, communication and public speaking. By seeing the positive results Company Programme has had on students, the report recommended the development of a healthy entrepreneurship ecosystem for young entrepreneurs and reforming education systems across the MENA region where entrepreneurship education must be integrated at the primary through tertiary levels. It also called for the promotion of more entrepreneurship and financial literacy throughout the region. The report said that training initiatives, like Company Programme, must be implemented at the national level. “Against the backdrop of weakened political and economic systems, youth simply need to feel empowered and capable of taking control of their lives,” the report concluded. The report assessments were based on perceptions of 1,454 youth from the six Arab countries.
