Silatech facts for kids
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| Formation | 2008 |
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| Type | Private |
| Headquarters | Doha, Qatar |
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Key people
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Moza bint Nasser, founder Hassan Al Mulla, CEO |
| Website | http://www.silatech.org |
Silatech (which means "your connection" in Arabic) is an organization based in Qatar. It was started by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. The current CEO is Mr. Hassan Al Mulla.
Silatech helps young people in the Arab world find jobs and create their own businesses. They focus on people aged 18 to 30. By 2016, Silatech had helped 200,000 young Arabs get jobs. They work with governments, private companies, and other groups to achieve their goals.
What is Silatech?
Silatech is an organization that works to solve the problem of youth unemployment in the Arab world. Many young people in this region find it hard to get jobs. Silatech helps them by offering training, career advice, and ways to get money to start businesses.
How Silatech Started
Silatech was launched in January 2008 by Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned. It started in six countries: Bahrain, Morocco, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen.
The money to start Silatech, $100 million, came from Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned and the former leader of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Silatech began its work in 2009.
Early partners who helped Silatech included Cisco, Gallup, and ImagineNations. Silatech aims to help young people become financially independent.
What Silatech Does
In 2016, Silatech was working in 16 countries. They had projects in different areas to help young people.
Helping Young People Find Jobs
Silatech works with big companies to create programs that help young people get ready for jobs.
Online Training and Career Advice
- With Cisco, Silatech created a platform for learning about technology and connecting with possible employers.
- With Microsoft, they made "Ta3meel." This program offers online training and helps young people connect with employers. They hoped to reach two million young people.
- "Tamheed," created with Mindmill, is an online career guidance tool. It uses special tests to help young people understand their skills and find suitable careers. It has been used in Qatar, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
- In Tunisia, Silatech launched "MobiWorks" with Tunisiana. This mobile platform offered learning for starting businesses, career advice, and understanding money. It reached 300,000 Tunisians very quickly.
Offline Training
Silatech also helps with in-person career counseling. For example, they trained people in the West Bank to give career advice. They also worked with Pearson Education to create a special course for construction workers in Yemen. Over 1,000 workers were trained in 2010.
Helping Young People with Money
Silatech helps young people manage their money and get loans to start businesses.
Saving Money
In Morocco, Silatech started "Tawfir al-Ghad" (Saving for Tomorrow) with Al Barid Bank. This project helps young people open savings accounts and learn about money. It aimed to help 30,000 young people. A similar project in Yemen helped 11,000 young people open savings accounts for the first time.
Small Loans for Businesses
Silatech helps young people get "microfinance," which are small loans to start or grow their businesses.
- They created a fund in Egypt to support small and medium-sized businesses.
- With UNWRA, they launched "Mubaderati" to give loans to young entrepreneurs. Silatech helps by guaranteeing part of the loan, which makes it easier for young people to get money.
- In Morocco, they introduced "Boudour" (Seed), a special loan product for young people. Over 7,000 entrepreneurs received these loans.
- Silatech partnered with Kiva, an online platform where people can lend money to entrepreneurs. Through "Kiva Arab Youth," over $3 million was raised for 2,500 young people.
- They also worked with Dahabshiil and the American Red Cross to help people in Somalia get funding for their projects.
- By 2012, Silatech had helped start or grow 15,000 youth-run businesses.
Supporting New Businesses
Silatech helps new businesses get started and grow.
Investor Network
Silatech launched SILA, a network of "angel investors" in Qatar. These are people who invest their own money in new businesses. They partnered with Qatar Development Bank and others to do this.
Business Competitions
Silatech supports competitions that encourage young people to come up with new business ideas.
- The Al Fikra Business Plan Competition gives winners cash prizes and advice to help their businesses.
- Silatech also supported the regional MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Business Plan competition.
- In 2014, Silatech held the first Arab Mobile App Challenge. Young people created mobile apps and competed for prizes. Winners even got to go to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona!
Conferences and Events
Silatech organizes events to bring young people and leaders together to discuss important topics.
- In 2012, they brought 300 young Libyans and government officials together to talk about youth empowerment.
- In 2013, they organized the Arab Youth and Entrepreneurship Conference in Qatar with the World Bank.
- They also support Global Entrepreneurship Week in Qatar and Libya.
Research and Studies
Silatech conducts research to understand the challenges young people face and find the best ways to help them.
- They created the "Silatech Index" with Gallup. This project measures what young people think about jobs and starting businesses.
- They also study how different programs help young people get jobs and start businesses.
Community Involvement
Silatech encourages young people to get involved in their communities.
- They launched a program with Innovations in Civic Partnership to help universities in Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, and Yemen improve community involvement.
- They also held a forum for university leaders to discuss how to include community work in higher education.
Special Programs in Qatar
Silatech has several special programs focused on helping young people in Qatar.
Youth Employment Initiative in Qatar, Al Amal Bil Amaal
This program helps young men and women in Qatar find jobs. It aims to help those who are unemployed or need new skills, especially after events like COVID-19. The goal is to help Qataris become more financially independent.
Bedaya Center
The Bedaya Center helps young people with career guidance and developing skills for jobs and entrepreneurship. It offers mentoring, training, and networking opportunities.
Qatar Ta3mal Youth Employability Portal
Qatar Ta3mal is an online platform that connects young Qataris with job opportunities. It offers career guidance tools like "Tamheed," online courses, and training. Many university students in Qatar use Tamheed to get career advice.
TAMM Volunteer Network
"Tamm" means "consider it done" in Qatari Arabic. This network helps young people find volunteer opportunities and get involved in their community. It connects volunteers with organizations that need help.
Challenge 22
Challenge 22 is an innovation award that started in 2015. It encourages young entrepreneurs, inventors, and scientists from the Middle East and North Africa to show their ideas. The winners receive prizes and a chance to present their ideas on a big stage.
GEM Report
Silatech helped conduct the first Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey in Qatar. This survey gathers information on how Qataris and other residents feel about starting businesses.
