In Anbar province, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-Tijara, an Iraq-based organization funded by USAID which promotes economic development in Iraq, opened its first Iraqi Youth Initiative office. The Iraqi Youth Initiative is part of the USAID-Tijara Provincial Economic Growth Program, a five-year initiative to promote private sector growth and employment in Iraq, and is intended to provide young, underserved Iraqis with business skills, entrepreneurship opportunities and microfinance loans. The initiative is expected to create 2,500 jobs for people between the ages of 18 and 35 and has budgeted USD 4.4 million for individual and group microloans. USAID is an arm of the US government that provides global economic and humanitarian assistance.
“The microfinance loans given under the auspices of the Iraqi Youth Initiative will bring stability to Anbar province because they will create job opportunities for young people living in under-served or impoverished areas,” said Faris Taha Al-Faris, chairman of the Anbar Provincial Council’s Youth and Sports Committee. The Anbar province’s workforce is younger and has less training relative to Iraq’s workforce as a whole, according to a recent article, and Mr Al-Faris has expressed the hope that the combination of business skills training and startup financing will produce the entrepreneurs that Anbar desperately needs. [1]
Implemented in partnership with USAID-Tijara’s network of microfinance institutions, the youth initiative has several components including apprenticeship programs, job recruiting, job and entrepreneurship training and microfinance loan opportunities.
For a suite of tools intended to improve the impact of international development efforts, you may visit http://www.kdid.org.
By Jennifer Shevock, Research Associate
About The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-Tijara:
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-Tijara is an initiative to promote private sector growth and employment in Iraq by fostering the growth of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). It provides governance consulting, financial services, policy advocacy and technical services. The organization is listed on MIX Market, but there is no financial data offered.
About the United States Agency for International Development (USAID):
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance. It focuses on areas such as economic growth, agriculture and trade, global health, democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance. Under the Development Credit Authority (DCA), it provides partial credit guarantees that cover up to 50 percent of defaults on loans made by private financial institutions to institutions that lend to underserved borrowers.
Sources and Additional Resources:
[1] “Iraq Youth Initiative Arrives in Anbar with Promise of New Jobs and Business Skills Training” July 26, 2010. http://www.imfi.org/?q=en/node/171
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: “The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-Tijara Commences ‘Provincial Economic Growth Program,’ Targeting Youth Employment in Iraq” July 12, 2010. https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-the-united-states-agency-for-international-development-usaid-tijara-commences-%e2%80%9cprovincial-economic-growth-program%e2%80%9d-targeting-youth-employment-in-iraq/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: “USAID-Tijara Announces Opening of Iraq’s 100th Microfinance Branch Location” June 9, 2010. https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-usaid-tijara-announces-opening-of-iraq%e2%80%99s-100th-microfinance-branch-location/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: “United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Budgets $4 m for USAID-Tijara Microfinance Program in Iraq” April 29, 2010. https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-united-states-agency-for-international-development-usaid-budgets-4-m-for-usaid-tijara-microfinance-program-in-iraq/
MicroCapital Universe: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-Tijara: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=USAID-Tijara
MicroCapital Universe: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID): https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=United+States+Agency+for+International+Development+%28USAID%29
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/
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