Silatech seeks to empower women, youth in 3 nations

Qatar-based NGO Silatech signed yesterday three strategic agreementswith international and national partners to economically empower youthin Sudan, Morocco and Somalia, and create job opportunities in theircommunities.The first is with United Nations Women (UN Women) to build the capacityof women in the Red Sea State and Khartoum State of Sudan.The second agreement is with Al Amana Microfinance in Morocco to expandits outreach to young people and facilitate access to fundingopportunities.The third is with a group of aspiring youth — founders of Horn ProgressInitiative — to train young men and women in Somalia on sustainableagricultural practices.The project in Sudan will economically empower more than 1,000beneficiaries of urban, peri-urban and rural women and girls in the mostvulnerable situations including with disabilities, survivors ofgender-based violence, living in refugee and IDP camps in the Red SeaState and Khartoum State of Sudan. Darren Peters, Operations Manager at UN Women – Sudan Country Officesaid: “The partnership between Silatech and UN Women will create projectinterventions where the capacity of women enhanced to createco-operatives and unions along identified value chains. It will improveaccess to and the use of new technology and services by women to gainacceptance by the communities, and also improve women’s access tomarkets and financial services.” “The project will contribute to sustainable development, economictransformation, women’s economic empowerment and improved livelihoods inSudan through women’s effective contribution to employment, jobcreation and income generation.”Silatech’s agreement with Al Amana Microfinance will create 684,000 jobs for Moroccan youth. Al Amana chairman Ahmed al-Ghazali said his organisation seeks to be anactive player in economic and social development through its financialintegration tools that help young people enter the microfinance market. Silatech’s partnership in Somalia aims to train as many as 7,500 youthon sustainable agricultural practices and technologies in order toreduce reliance on rain-fed agriculture. The initiative is expected to create 15,000 jobs for youth in theagriculture including returnees from refugee camps in the neighbouringcountries.Silatech CEO Sabah al-Haidoos said: “In 2017, Silatech has sought toactivate the youth agenda at a global level through internationalmemberships, co-operation with governments and non-governmentalorganisations and the expansion of its regional and internationalnetwork of partners. Silatech has also designed its 2018 operationalplan towards the sustainability of the organisation and itsyouth-oriented programmes. “The organisation will continue to launch innovative initiatives thatempower youth to advance their communities in line with sustainabledevelopment goals, and the strategies of their respective governments.All this will play a vital role in achieving our founder’s vision of “anArab world in which young people are able to work, and are engaged inthe economic development of their societies”.Established in 2008, Silatech works on connecting Arab youth whereverthey are to jobs, and enable resources for them to establish and sustainsuccessful income-generating enterprises. By 2017, Silatech has succeeded in creating or sustaining more than650,522 job opportunities for Arab youth, and has signed commitments tocreate 2mn jobs by 2020. Silatech currently has programmes in 17 Arab and non-Arab countries.