KAPITA Participates in the Regional High-Level Meeting #Learning2Earning in Jordan.
23rd of May.
KAPITA Business Hub has participated in a panel discussion themed: ”Young Women and Men leading social enterprise to address developmental challenges” in The Regional High-Level Meeting on Young People’s Learning, Skilling and Transition to Decent Work, which is a co-organized by the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Children’s Fund under the UN Arab States Issue-Based Coalition for Adolescents and Youth.
The session addressed the role of social entrepreneurship for youth and their societies. Issues such as access to finance, lack of skills, market access, and legislative/administrative barriers are critical challenges for youth, especially women, to create social impact and start their social enterprises. The session brings together relevant actors from government/policymakers, the private sector, civil society organizations, and social entrepreneurs to discuss the opportunities and challenges of social entrepreneurship development, especially for young women and vulnerable young people.
Mohammad Jamal - Managing Director, Research at KAPITA, mentioned the importance of developing the educational system in Iraq as it is the root cause of many problems facing the startups scene in Iraq today.
The lack of business mindset and poor business models are also some of the issues Iraq is facing now. Many startups start on the basis of social causes and they form following a social need. So we can say that most startups are social entrepreneurs.
KAPITA, alongside other companies, is trying to change the ecosystem scene now, by implementing incubation and acceleration programs. Focusing on research to build a more data-driven community and collaborate with larger companies like (Asiacell).
The real definition of social entrepreneurship is still unclear because legalization issues are still present including company registration.
Mohammad also encouraged companies, and international institutions to work together to take advantage of the current available human and job resources, or else we’re headed towards a difficult future.
You can watch the full panel discussion below (KAPITA's participation starts at min 42:00):
About KAPITA:
KAPITA is a private sector development company that aims to empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through investment, research, incubation/acceleration, and market development programs.