Partner: The Synergos Institute and USAID (phase I); The Synergos Institute and Alwaleed Philanthropies (phase II)
Year of Implementation : 2013-2017
With a network of 75 pioneers, 257 start-ups and 2070 volunteers, Pioneers of Egypt had an overall goal of expanding employment and self-employment opportunities, particularly for youth, and supporting the new generation civil society and business leaders.
The program implemented on 2 phases (2013 -2014) & (2015-2017) achieved the following specific objectives:
- Strengthened community-led initiatives in Egypt, that demonstrated economic and social development, by working with entrepreneurs who led these initiatives. To this end, the program selected 75 strong Egyptian entrepreneurs, with particular emphasis on initiatives promoting youth development, job creation and income generation opportunities. Egyptian Social Innovators received an integrated set of services including financial awards, mentoring, and strategic connections to increase the scale and sustainability of their initiatives.
- Enhanced the skills and leadership potential of a cohort of start-up social entrepreneurs who were engaged in promising work by providing them with training and networking opportunities. The program worked with up to 257 start-up social entrepreneurs by providing training, workshops, and exchanges with social entrepreneurs to help them enhance their capacities to advance their ideas and programs.
- Built the skills of Egyptian youth and enhanced their employability through a volunteers program that placed 2,070 young people in businesses and social enterprises and provided them with job skill building and training, and increased awareness of social entrepreneurship as a viable career path.