UNDP Libya and the Ministry of Local Government, in collaboration with the European Union (EU) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), launched yesterday “Deraya – (دِرَايَــة) Entrepreneurship Initiative” for young entrepreneurs. The initiative seeks to build a dynamic ecosystem of innovative entrepreneurs and startups in Libya.
The UNDP says young entrepreneurs in Libya face many challenges, including accessing markets and financial resources, and navigating regulations and administrative procedures. The Deraya initiative is designed to equip entrepreneurs with the essential know-how to turn innovative ideas into successful startups.
Open to 18- to 35-year-olds
Targeting youth and vulnerable groups, Deraya is open to innovative and aspiring entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 35. Through interactive webinars, the initiative’s participants will be given an opportunity to engage with experienced entrepreneurs, subject matter experts, and role models from Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia and learn from their success stories, wealth of knowledge, and expertise.
Linked to the municipal business incubators
The initiative will also entail startup weekends in Tripoli, Benghazi, Sabha, and Derna, culminating with a pitch competition where the winning startups will receive financial support, financed by EU and AfDB, to further develop, grow, and take their business ideas to the next level. As a critical step towards sustainability, entrepreneurs will be linked to the municipal business incubators being set up with MoLG with UNDP’s technical support.
Commenting on the launch of the programme, Minister of Local Government Badr al-Din al-Tumi told the Libya Herald, “The Derayah initiative plays an important role in the Ministry of Local Government’s strategy to develop entrepreneurship and small projects at the local level, empower municipalities economically and provide job opportunities. We are pleased to work towards achieving these goals in cooperation with our international partners from the European Union, the African Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme’’.
Al-Tumi added that supporting entrepreneurs with innovative creative ideas opens the door to diversification in the economy and expansion in the private sector, which is the first contributor to revitalizing the economy and creating new jobs that absorb the young labour force in Libya.
Al-Tumi emphasized the existence of a generation of young people in Libya with tremendous mental and intellectual capabilities and creative ideas, which gives an indication that it will become one of the entrepreneurial systems in North Africa.EU Ambassador José Sabadell added: “Libya’s economic prosperity will be driven by young entrepreneurs with innovative, forward-looking ideas. They will be the key to a more diversified Libyan economy, a strong private sector and new jobs. Together with our Libyan and international partners, the European Union therefore seeks to offer strong and concrete support to young Libyan entrepreneurs, to realise their business ideas.”Mohamed El Azizi, Regional Director for North Africa at the African Development Bank, further commented: “Private sector development is key to boosting economic diversification and job creation in Libya. Supporting the trajectory of young Libyan men and women to develop and grow their start-ups has enormous socio-economic potential and will contribute to job creation. It is also important to ensure an adequate business enabling environment and institutional support. The EEYES project, financed by the AfDB through the Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multidonor Trust Fund, and implemented by UNDP, supports these components.”UNDP Resident Representative, Marc-André Franche, said: “Libya has a new generation of young people, women and men, , with promising capacity and big ambitions. The country has the potential to be one of the biggest entrepreneurial ecosystems in North Africa, and through the Deraya programme, UNDP seek to help inspire and provide young entrepreneurs with the necessary resources and assets to realise growth and innovation.”The UNDP reports that the Deraya programme is part of its Local Peacebuilding and Resilience efforts in partnership with Ministry of Local Government, aimed at creating socio-economic opportunities for youth and vulnerable groups to promote sustainable growth in Libya, including the establishment of the first Municipality-led business incubator and the TEC+ Accelerator programme.
It says that the Deraya initiative is designed and implemented in collaboration with a consortium consisting of Flat6Labs, Tatweer Research and MAZAM, which it says bring in years of experience and specialized knowledge in helping young entrepreneurs launch successful ventures in both the Middle East and Africa regions.
