Silatech backs youth empowerment in Yemen
Doha, July 3, 2014
Silatech, a regional social initiative that works to create jobs and expand economic opportunities for young Arabs, has joined as a strategic partner to support phase two of the $10.5 million Youth Economic Empowerment Project (YEEP).
The programme led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Yemen, has been designed to benefit more than 8,000 Yemeni youth over two years.
The project will provide young Yemenis with employment in public works programmes, leading from there to job and skills training, career guidance, entrepreneurship assistance and job placement.
Ranked 160 out of 184 countries in the 2012 Human Development Index, Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world. It has witnessed a decline in humanitarian and living conditions following the unrest that erupted in 2011.
The country has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world, at approximately 65 per cent, and more than half the population lives on less than $2 per day.
Justin Sykes, director of Microenterprise, Silatech, said: “The YEEP II programme represents one of the most holistic and comprehensive youth economic empowerment strategies we have come across in the Mena region, and we are delighted to be working to shape and deliver this initiative.
“This partnership will enable Silatech to expand the impact of its existing Yemen-based programming, as well as test out a range of innovative solutions which will serve to increase job creation opportunities for Yemeni youth.”
YEEP II follows an innovative year-long pilot programme, supported by technical assistance from Silatech, which an independent evaluation found to be “highly relevant and timely in meeting the needs of a growing body of vulnerable youth in Yemen.”
Silatech will provide YEEP II with a substantial financial contribution, as well as technical assistance in the areas of enterprise development, access to finance, career guidance and counseling, and job matching.
The Youth Economic Empowerment Project is a multi-funded project with contributions from the UNDP, SPARK and Silatech as well as the Japanese, Korean and Dutch governments. - TradeArabia News Service
