DOHA: Silatech is supporting the Youth Economic Empowerment Project (YEEP) to benefit more than 8,000 Yemenis over two years.
In its second phase, YEEP is a programme led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Yemen with Silatech as strategic partner.
The $10.5m YEEP II project will provide 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 in the world. It has witnessed a decline in humanitarian and living conditions following the unrest that erupted in 2011. It has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world — about 65 percent — and more than half the population lives on less than $2 per day.
According to Silatech Director of Microenterprise, Justin Sykes, “YEEP II 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 it. The partnership will enable Silatech to expand the impact of its Yemen-based programming as well as test out innovative solutions which will serve to increase job creation opportunities for Yemenis.
YEEP II builds upon the success of 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 funds and technical assistance in the areas of enterprise development, access to finance, career guidance and counselling, and job matching.
It is a multi-funded project with contributions from UNDP, SPARK and Silatech as well as the Japanese, Korean and Dutch governments. YEEP has been designed to align with National Youth Employment Plan 2014-2016, approved by the Government of Yemen in late 2013.
Silatech is the largest provider of youth-focused microenterprise services in the Middle East and North Africa.
The Peninsula
