The European Union and the World Bank
support the Social Fund for Development in boosting employment
opportunities for Egyptian Youth
By : Mohamed Adel
CAIRO, September 16, 2015—The European Union
(EU) and the World Bank support the Social Fund for Development (SFD) in
expanding its partnerships with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to
develop and implement projects aimed at creating sustainable employment
opportunities for the Egyptian youth. The initiative is part of the Emergency
Employment Investment Project funded by the EU with a EUR 69.8 million grant
and implemented by the World Bank. It is expected to help over 3'000
beneficiaries in some of the poorest districts in Egypt to access formal job
opportunities and create or enhance their own businesses.
The program supports selected NGOs to implement
a range of activities enabling young people to secure jobs, such as technical
training, soft skills training, counseling, or access to financial and
non-financial services to start a business. The initiative also encourages NGOs
to seek partnerships with employers, other NGOs or training providers to reinforce
their services.
“We are very pleased to support the empowerment
of Egyptian youth through creating sustainable job opportunities. Partnering
with specialised NGOs, young people in Egypt’s poorest areas can have access to
real jobs and create or grow their own businesses,” said Ambassador James
Moran, Head of the EU delegation to Egypt.
A key feature of this initiative is the
commitment of participating NGOs to placing their beneficiaries to a job.
“We work with NGOs that can design and implement
demand-driven projects in line with real employer needs and local market
opportunities,” said Medhat Massoud, head of SFD’s central sector for Human and
Community Development. “Proposals must demonstrate that the NGO has a strong
understanding of the specific needs of the youth and the different barriers
they face in finding employment.”
“Just providing training or other services to
young people is not enough. It is important to focus on the results; that is,
how many beneficiaries are placed in a job at the end, and evaluate which
approaches work and which do not,” said Afrah Al-Ahmadi, World Bank Task Team
Leader for the program.
The initiative was launched in 2014, and is
showing good results thus far. As of July 2015, the SFD had contracted 13 NGOs
working in different governorates, with diverse activities such as on-the-job
training in the cosmetics sector, training and job placement of kindergarten
teachers, and supporting the creation of small agricultural enterprises. SFD
seeks to further expand the number of NGOs it works with under this initiative.
Interested NGOs are encouraged to submit Expressions of Interest to the Social
Fund at: http://www.sfdegypt.org/web/sfd/eoi-wageandselfemployment.
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