An in-depth analysis by Silatech and Palestine for a New Beginning (PNB) has produced an interactive map to enable more effective interaction between entrepreneurs, support organisations and policy makers.
Available at www.palestinemap.info, Silatech website, and on www.Ta3mal.ps, the ecosystem map presents the relationship between over 100 various entrepreneurship-related organisations and entities in finance, education, government, media, the private sector, donor institutions and civil society.
The interactive map provides a short description of each organisation and link to its website, as well as information about where each organisation operates and which economic sectors it targets.
Palestine suffers from the highest unemployment rate in the Mashreq region, at 23%. Palestine’s youth unemployment rate tops 38%, higher than the Arab world’s average of 30%. The Arab world has the highest youth unemployment of any region in the world.
PNB chairman Zahi Khouri said :“When PNB decided to begin working in entrepreneurship, we discovered a very busy space, yet still very few successes. We decided to work on this map to better understand the ecosystem, learn and decide where we could play a strong role.”
Rula Shunnar, Silatech country representative for Palestine and Jordan, emphasised “A lack of clear and accurate information often hampers entrepreneurs from getting the support they need; we believe this map will provide a useful tool to help strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and look forward to working with our partners at PNB to continue supporting the Palestinian people, and especially Palestinian youth.”
Silatech works with over 100 partners throughout the Arab world to provide entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for young people. Since 2008, Silatech has enabled more than 90,000 youth-run businesses to start and grow, supporting more than 140,000 youth jobs.
In Palestine, Silatech partners with a variety of organisations to support Palestinian youth in areas such as access to microfinance, employability resources and job openings through Ta3mal.ps, career guidance, civic engagement and leadership training.
PNB is an alliance of public and private sector institutions and individuals that aims to leverage resources and experience by investing in innovative new projects and building on existing successful initiatives.
