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Entrepreneurs Tackle Social Problems
FrontLines - November 2009
By Sarina Beges
At first glance, harvesting
tomatoes with local farmers in
the rural expanse bordering the
Dead Sea may not seem like the
most ideal way for Jordanian
youngsters to spend a weekend.
But for a group of youth
from Amman, participating in
“exchange tourism” activities to
interact with the local community
in Ghor al Mazra’a is a way
to share experiences and break
ethnic stereotypes in a country
marked by pronounced socioeconomic
divides.
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Mohammad Kilany demonstrates technology designed
by Souktel that allows job seekers to apply via mobile phone.
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Social innovator Rabee
Zureikat launched the Zikra
Initiative in 2007, and this new
model of exchange tourism
to address social problems in
Jordan and to support economic
development. Funds from the
tours are re-invested into microloans
and workshops for entrepreneurs—
mostly women—to
start small businesses while preserving
local traditions.
“In the past nine months,
we have increased our microloan
entrepreneur members
from six to 18 loans through
our exchange activities,” said
Zureikat, who is 29. “Eighteen
families currently have a sustainable
form of income to support
their families by opening kiosks,
clothes retail, tailor shops, animal
farmers…chicken, sheep,
bees…and much more. Women
have become more independent
and have sustainable income.”
Today, social entrepreneurs
in the Arab world are introducing
new ideas and approaches
to address persistent social,
economic, and environmental
problems. Operating on a grassroots
level, they seek to recast
an existing system that is failing
the most underserved in society.
But social entrepreneurs face
a number of challenges in scaling
up their projects and need
support from local institutions
and policymakers for their ideas.
USAID and the Synergos
Institute launched the Arab
World Social Innovators
Program in October 2007 to
support 22 social entrepreneurs
based in Egypt, Jordan,
Lebanon, Morocco, and the
Palestinian Territories who
deliver positive social returns to
their communities through education,
social justice, sustainable
agriculture, and the arts.
Over two years, the Global
Development Alliance provides
seed funding and professional
development to grow start-up
ventures into sustainable organizations
to serve a larger number
of youth, women, children, and
those with special needs. There
is little local funding to support
these groups.
“Right now I feel we’re
having a substantial social
impact in certain communities
within Palestine, but with
[the project’s] support, we can
now scale up our work so that
our technology reaches more
people in more places,” said
Mohammad Kilany, co-founder
of Souktel, an initiative to create
employment in the Palestinian
Territories.
Another challenge for the
social entrepreneurs is moving
their project from an idea into
reality.
Volunteer consultants from
Booz Allen Hamilton’s Social
Entrepreneurship Assistance
Program help with business
planning and organizational
design. In addition, the USAID-Synergos
program provides
access to a global network
of peer advisors and mentors
to help develop projects.
Entrepreneurs have been featured
in international media outlets,
building awareness about
their programs in the
Arab world.
Raghda el-Ebrashi is a
25-year-old with a vision: to
inspire Egyptian youth to find
solutions to poverty in Egypt by
breaking traditional dependency
on charity.
As the founder of Alashanek
Ya Balady Association for
Sustainable Development in
Cairo, she believes that social
entrepreneurship must be recognized
by society before it can
truly take root.
“…Social entrepreneurship
is not known in Egypt,” said
el-Ebrashi. “If you say what
is social entrepreneurship in
Egypt, no one except the academics
will answer you.”
Still, the social entrepreneurs
in the Arab world are slowly
becoming recognized as champions
of the underprivileged and
for delivering sustainable solutions
to persistent development
challenges.
Sarina Beges is with the
Synergos Institute.
★
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
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