Over the 2015-16 academic year, the Citi Foundation continued their ongoing partnership with INJAZ to implement the Youth Entrepreneurship Program as part of a global grant with JA Worldwide, a comprehensive suite of programs including Company Program and Innovation Camp. Citi volunteers joined INJAZ’s network to provide a mixture of high-impact, one-day sessions and long-term mentorship for student companies to 8,861 students in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar and UAE. Additionally, the Citi Foundation sponsored the Remarkable Customer Service Award at the 2015 Regional Company Competition in Oman, awarded to Bahraini school company 3DOTs.

The Ripples of Happiness program, implemented through the Coca-Cola Foundation, targeted students at universities in Palestine and Saudi Arabia with a six-week program designed to foster social responsibility, entrepreneurship and workforce readiness. This academic year saw the conclusion of the 2015 grant that reached 2,665 students and the beginning of the 2016 grant for 351 students, mentoring them in the process creating a product designed to benefit their communities. The winning submission from the 2015 competition, Melody of Happiness from Birzeit University in Palestine, won seed funding to make their product a reality.

INJAZ Al-Arab and ExxonMobil completed a two year grant dedicated to the establishment of an updated high school curriculum for Company Program and for the first time, a unique university edition of the program. In addition, the grant enabled INJAZ to create a digital platform to supplement the program material and increase student engagement. The program was piloted in Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in 2015-16, benefitting 29 student teams and more than 325 young people to form student businesses and take them through the entire lifecycle of a company.

Be Entrepreneurial is a program that introduces students to the essential elements of developing a practical business plan and then challenges them to start an entrepreneurial venture while still in high school, supported by United Way Worldwide on behalf of the generosity of Bank of New York Mellon. The program covers important lessons on advertising, competitive advantages, financing, marketing and product development. Through this grant, INJAZ Lebanon and INJAZ Egypt impacted 1,300 youth during the course of the 2015-16 academic year.

JA More Than Money is a program supported by HSBC that teaches children about money basics – earning, spending, sharing and saving. It features six one-hour sessions each including interactive volunteer-led business and community games that are designed to help students learn the significance of money management. The program also provides take-home materials that allow students to share their new knowledge with family and friends. Volunteers are essential to the success of JA More Than Money, as they bring different perspectives and unique professional experiences to each and every session. This year saw the program implemented in 32 countries globally, with Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, and UAE representing MENA, impacting 8,089 youth in the region.

In collaboration with Education for Employment and the International Youth Foundation, JP Morgan helped INJAZ Al-Arab teach workforce readiness skills to 1,000 students in Egypt and Saudi Arabia through the Steer Your Career program and conducted a Labor Market Assessment of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Via six weekly sessions each semester, students learned how to search for a job, as well as the soft skills needed to succeed in one.

This academic year, MasterCard and INJAZ completed the 2015 grant for the It’s My Business program in Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. It’s My Business works with students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades to provide entrepreneurship curriculum to 17,793 youth during the year.

MetLife’s global partnership with JA Worldwide under the LifeChanger Grant continued in 2015-16 to support programs in Egypt, Lebanon and UAE. 7,930 students were impacted with a variety of financial literacy and entrepreneurship programs, including JA Personal Finance, JA Career Success and JA Be a Leader.