Youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is at a critical high, with more than 25% of young people jobless in several countries. Traditional job markets aren’t providing enough opportunities, and there’s a significant gap between education and what the market demands, as I addressed in my earlier blog. But there’s hope: through corporate open innovation and youth entrepreneurship, we can transform young people from job seekers into job creators and eventually changemakers, and drive meaningful change in the fields of Sustainability and Climate Action.
The Challenge in MENA
MENA’s large and growing youth population faces limited opportunities. Governments and traditional industries can’t absorb the influx of young graduates, leaving millions without employment prospects. However, by fostering entrepreneurship, we can empower young people to create jobs for themselves and others.
How?
Startups are a powerful force for job creation, accounting for up to 40% of new jobs in emerging markets. Across MENA, youth-led startups are driving innovation in various areas like technology, renewable energy, and social impact. In essence, by investing in and supporting youth entrepreneurship, corporations and governments can tap into this powerful engine of job creation, helping to reduce unemployment across MENA.
One significant enabler is Corporate Open Innovation to solve this problem and create significant long term value. By collaborating with external innovators, including youth-led startups, and young innovators, businesses can co-create accelerator or incubation programs that can tap into fresh ideas, talents and new market opportunities. Nestlé’s Nestlé Needs YOUth initiative and the Global Alliance for YOUth are great examples of how corporations can make an impact. Nestle, alone, is targeting to help 10 million young people around the world to access economic opportunities by 2030 through employment and employability, agripreneurship and entrepreneurship. Just imagine what we can achieve if local business tap into this wealth of talent opportunities?
A Call to Action for Corporations
At Stratecis, we believe that youth entrepreneurship and corporate innovation is key to solving the region’s growing unemployment crisis and drive significant positive change on all aspects. We invite corporations to join hands with us to amplify our impact collectively by co-creating accelerators and incubators that empower young people ready to take this entrepreneurial path.
Together, we can foster a generation of job creators and innovative problem solvers who will drive sustainable growth and innovation across MENA.
Let’s collaborate to turn today’s youth into the changemakers of tomorrow.
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