Opportunities, GIZ Egypt, and “Enactus Egypt” joined Forces to Launch the “NextGen Onboard” programme

GIZ Egypt on behalf of the German Government and Enactus Egypt have signed an agreement to bridge the gap between the needs of the private sector and youth unemployment among university graduates over two consecutive years.

The agreement was signed by Mr. Younes Naguib, the Director of the Private Sector Development Programme at GIZ Egypt and Ms. Fatma Serry, the CEO of Enactus Egypt. This agreement is part of the joint efforts of both parties aimed at analyzing training needs involving more than a hundred private sector companies in various fields. It also involves designing training programmes tailored to the needs of the job market. Additionally, a special competition will be launched to find innovative and sustainable solutions to the challenges facing the agricultural manufacturing and food industries. These solutions will be adopted and implemented by private sector companies in one of the industrial zones targeted by GIZ Egypt.

Furthermore, as part of the annual local competition by Enactus Egypt, a career fair will be held for the first time exclusively, with the participation of a large number of private sector companies. This collaboration aims to utilize the United Nations platform under the “Youth of the Nation” international initiative, which has been launched in more than 54 countries worldwide. Its goal is to support and empower youth to acquire the necessary skills to find decent job opportunities.

The signing of the agreement witnessed the presence of several local and foreign companies operating in Egypt. Additionally, a panel discussion was held on the employment needs of the labor market, with the participation of elite private sector companies in various fields, including telecommunications and information technology, construction, petroleum, food industries, and international development.

Mr. Younes Naguib, the Director of the Private Sector Development Programme at GIZ Egypt, expressed his satisfaction with collaborating with Enactus Egypt in creating job opportunities for youth in various fields. He mentioned that the agreement signing is a significant step in the constructive and fruitful cooperation between Egypt and Germany in empowering and training youth to drive development.

Furthermore, Mr. Sameh Hamad, the Manager of Industrial Zones and Clusters Development at the Job Partnerships and Small and Medium Enterprises Support Project (JP-SME) at GIZ Egypt, added that this collaboration will work towards creating 1,200 new job opportunities over two consecutive years, with 50 percent of them intended for females. Additionally, it aims to establish a sustainable solution that will be implemented by a private sector company in the agricultural manufacturing and food industries within one of the targeted industrial zones supported by the project.

Ms. Fatma Serry, the CEO of Enactus Egypt, expressed her delight in collaborating for the first time with GIZ Egypt to launch the “NextGen Onboard” program. This aligns with Enactus Egypt’s vision of developing the skills and capabilities of young people to prepare a new generation of leaders capable of creating a better world for all members of society. Serry added that Enactus Egypt has helped over 175,000 university students in developing their personal skills and implementing nearly 180 projects that serve sustainable development goals since its establishment in 2004.

It is worth mentioning that the programme will be implemented over two consecutive years and will provide comprehensive support and guidance to students with the assistance of a selected group of top trainers in Egypt and the Middle East. Its goal is to develop the skills of young graduates and integrate them into the job market by connecting the programme graduates with private sector companies across various sectors.