Sharek empowers 1337 youth and fresh graduates in the economic-fields in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Since September 2007, and through partnership with the private sector and civil society, Sharek Youth Forum was able to economically empower 1337 youth and recent graduates in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

This comes as a result of Sharek’s comprehensive economic empowerment program, A Step Forward, which in addition to Bridges and Partners constitute the core of Sharek Youth Forum’s activities. Since its inception, A Step Forward has benefited over 3266 graduates and built a very solid network for partnership with over 1063 private and public sector organizations, both for profit and not-for-profit organisations. The youth were employed in various positions in different sectors of the economy covering the fields of engineering, research, agriculture, law, information technology, health and pharmaceutical services, administration and financial sectors.

In addition, Sharek is currently working to bring a new dimension to the program by establishing the Youth Business Support Unit, which aims at upgrading the basic skills of entrepreneurs and providing them with start-up grants to pursue their own business ventures. The implementation of the project will be through the establishment of 6 units in Gaza, Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Hebron, and Rafah. These units will serve as a reference point for entrepreneurs and will provide a comprehensive business incubation program to at least 150 families in the next two years. It is anticipated that through business incubation the benefiting families will be able to overcome poverty and generate sustainable income.  

It is worthwhile noting that the Youth Business Support Unit and Sharek Youth Forum are members of the Middle East and North Africa business incubator network (MENAinc,) and are continuously seeking strategic alliances that will provide better economic opportunities for Palestinian youth.

The complete published article is available in Arabic, and includes testimonials of partner organizations.