Hebron Entrepreneurship: Starting Up the Future of Women Driven Enterprise

Hebron, Palestine, Jan. 20, 2020 – MENACatalyst is thrilled to announce the commencement of their latest project, Hebron Entrepreneurship: Starting Up the Future of Women Driven Enterprise. The project aims at empowering Hebron’s growing startup ecosystem and is targeting innovative women entrepreneurs who lack the resources, platform, and support needed to kick-off their entrepreneurial projects.

In an effort to curb Hebron’s steep unemployment rates at 20 percent, disproportionally affecting women, MENACatalyst along with funding partner GIZ (German Development Cooperation) acting on behalf of the The German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and in collaboration with The Hebron Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and microfinance organization Wafaa International Group, are committed to creating new opportunities for women founders in the city.

Opening the event was the President of the Hebron Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Abdo Idris, who took the opportunity to highlight the importance of entrepreneurship and the need of all committed stakeholders to step up and work together to create new opportunities for the youth of Palestine.  

Also in attendance was advisor for Entrepreneurship for the GIZ Program for Access to the Labour Market (PALM), Dietmar Hanzen, who introduced the project, and spoke at length about the organization’s commitment to effect meaningful change in Palestine, through their latest efforts to work with local TVET institutions to create viable income-generating projects for some of the most vulnerable social groups in the country.

MENACatalyst then took the stage, with representative Mr. Awad Abo Rmaileh, who shared the organization’s overarching mission to support Palestinian led entrepreneurship, innovation, and industry, to build a resilient economy that overcomes boundaries and opens a world of new opportunities for Palestinians everywhere. Mr. Rmaileh also stressed the importance of enhancing the economic participation of graduates with the technical skills and know-how to launch and manage long-term income-generating projects. 

Mr. Muhammad Shallalda of Wafaa International Group then followed and spoke about how the organization supports emerging business founders with the microfinance and connections needed to establish viable small businesses.

To inspire the group of potential beneficiaries, MENACatalyst invited three trailblazing female entrepreneurs and business professionals making a name for themselves in Palestine and the greater MENA region, namely Suna Zoabi-Othman, founder and CEO of meditation app, Tawazon; Najah Osaily, administrative and financial manager at Osaily Trading Contracting Co.; and Lamis Qdemat, founder of Water Heroes, an interactive platform that teaches kids of all ages the importance of conserving water and how they can become water heroes in their own right. 

Also in attendance were more than 100 potential women founders, eager to join the project and take the first steps in their entrepreneurial journey. Participants then took the stage and pitched their project ideas to secure a coveted spot amongst 20 beneficiaries to take full advantage of Hebron’s only women-driven entrepreneurial hub.

About PALM:
The GIZ Program for Access to Labour Market (PALM) is tailored to address the Palestinian Labor Market sector. PALM is targeting all job-seeking Palestinians with focus on university graduates and women from the Labour market supply side, and at the same time Palestinian private sector from the Labour market demand side. The overall objective is to provide better access to the labor market for job seekers (matching). One of the main outputs and activity field of the Program is ‘Capacity Development for Self-Employment Services’, concluding activities towards start-ups, freelance businesses and its service providers and support to the planned Birzeit Multi-Purpose Training Center.

About GIZ:
As a service provider in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and international education work, we are dedicated to shaping a future worth living around the world. We have over 50 years of experience in a wide variety of areas, including economic development and employment promotion, energy and the environment, and peace and security. The diverse expertise of our federal enterprise is in demand around the globe – from the German Government, European Union institutions, the United Nations, the private sector and governments of other countries. We work with businesses, civil society actors and research institutions, fostering successful interaction between development policy and other policy fields and areas of activity.

MENACatalyst: 
A Palestine based non-profit working to tap into the potential of the diaspora to enhance Palestinian led innovation, industry, and collaboration on a global scale. From empowering local entrepreneurs with access to markets, business enablers, investors and mentors, to introducing the youngest generation with the power to code, MC is committed to building a resilient, virtual economy that overcomes boundaries and opens a world of new opportunities for Palestinians everywhere.