YouthInvest by the numbers

MEDA's YouthInvest project is making great progress in reaching out to unemployed youth in Morocco, reports project manager Jennifer Denomy, who is currently on a two-week field visit to Morocco.

For instance, youth are being encouraged to begin saving for their future. To date, 587 youth savings accounts have been opened with MEDA's partner financial institutions.

And MEDA is reaching out to many more youth with its 100 Hours to Success training program as it continues to scale up. Currently, 1,309 youth are enrolled in training and 554 have completed courses.

Partner financial institutions are piloting youth loan projects. Interested clients participate in eight hours of training, then apply for a loan to start or build a small business for themselves. The average loan size is 8,000 Moroccan Dirhams, or about $900.

MEDA is getting the word out about YouthInvest through awareness-raising sessions in high schools, youth centers and community centers to attract young people to the training.

A current priority is to expand YouthInvest to Egypt, and MEDA is finalizing partnership agreements with local banking institutions and NGOs. Recent research, including focus groups with youth, parents and community leaders and partners, will ensure that the program is tailored to the particular needs of the Egyptian community.

Watch this space for reports from the field!

Welcome!

You’ve come to our new blog for YouthInvest – MEDA’s program to help jobless youth in Morocco and Egypt create sustainable livelihoods.

I hope you’ll visit us regularly here. We’ll post new entries each week, and you’ll meet the dedicated people involved in YouthInvest. Our field project manager, Adil Sadoq, will share regular updates from Morocco. You’ll hear from staff members in Morocco, Egypt, and here in North America. And we hope to encourage a few of the youth who are enrolled in 100 Hours to Success to introduce themselves and tell you about their plans for starting small businesses.

I think you’ll be inspired by what everyone has to say. The level of commitment by youth, MEDA partners and MEDA staff is remarkable. Last August, when I traveled to Morocco, I visited a microfinance institution that is partnering with us to develop youth-friendly products. I saw loan officers going out on foot, in incredible heat, to visit clients. They were working without the sophisticated financial tools – the laptops, the spreadsheets and so on – that you and I take for granted. That’s what people are doing on the ground to make YouthInvest happen.

Visit often to find out more.

Allan Sauder