Hi MENA’s Unemployment: The Facts!.

Hi MENA’s Unemployment: The Facts!.

Social initiative Silatech and innovation laboratory Visualizing Impact released an infographic about the state of unemployment in the MENA-region. They found that 28% of the MENA-region’s 15 – 28-year-olds are unemployed, which means that 7 million young Arabs get delayed in the job market.

If the number of unemployed Arab youths is halved, the region’s Gross Domestic Product can increase by $25 billion by 2018, according to the International Labor Organization.

Silatech’s CEO Tarek Youssef stated that unemployment hinders young people from getting married and having a family, which obstructs their capability to contribute to and build their community. “The anger and frustration we see in the news these days has its roots in the depression these young people feel due to lack of hope,” he adds.

In Egypt, getting married costs 11 times a single person’s household annual expenses – in other words, it is much cheaper to stay single and live alone. On average, a groom-to-be is asked to spend what is equivalent to his two-year-salary to pay for the wedding and marriage in Egypt, of which he usually pays 40%. His family and the bride’s family each contribute with 30%.

The independence age in the MENA-region for women (24 years) is close to the global average, however, the age for males lies at 29, the eldest in comparison to East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and South America & the Carribean.

Hi $300bn worth of rail and metro projects announced or under way in the Middle East.

Hi $300bn worth of rail and metro projects announced or under way in the Middle East.

The annual MEED MENA Rail & Metro Summit was told this morning that a total of $300bn worth of rail and metro projects are under way or planned in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region.

“Every single country in the MENA region has rail project ambitions,” MEED Projects’ director of analysis Ed James said.

“Not all of these projects will go ahead, but the figure is indicative of the scale of what is happening.”

James said Saudi Arabia had the largest rail project pipeline in the region with over $100bn, including the Riyadh Dammam High-Speed Rail, which is currently under study, along with the Eastern Province Municipality – Dammam Metro. Qatar boasts a rail and metro project pipeline valued at $40bn, followed by the UAE with $30bn. Across the region, the other big investments will be seen in Egypt, Iran, Kuwait and Oman.

Meanwhile, a keynote speaker at the summit says delivering rail and metro megaprojects in the Middle East presents unique challenges.

“A lot of the projects in the region are aiming for completion in the period to 2022,” Fluor (UAE) programme manager Dago Beek said in a keynote speech. “2020 is a huge challenge whether it is for projects or rolling stock.”

“These are strategic projects where co-operation with all stakeholders is required,” he said.

“We need confirmation of stakeholder standards and regulations. We need the required drawings for existing and proposed services. And we need to deal with overlapping transport corridors.”

“We need transport safety laws and multi-modal regulations,” Beek said.

“Right of way and land acquisition is an issue. Every piece of land is owned and getting alignment straight is a huge challenge.”

“We should move in a more professional manner when dealing with systems assurance,” Beek said. “And we need to be more professional when we are dealing with communication.”

Beek said that a key technical challenge is dealing with sand dunes drifting across the alignment of railways passing through deserts.

“There is no one solution to this challenge,” he said.

A possible technical solution brought forward at the summit was the use of viaducts of about 3 metres in height upon which railways would run.

“There is no single solution to this challenge,” Fluor (UAE) programme manager Dago Beek said a question and answer session after his opening keynote speech at the summit.

Fluor Corporation and Parsons Brinckerhoff are project managers on the $7bn Saudi Landbridge rail project which will connect Jeddah with Riyadh and the Saudi capital with the Gulf coast. Beek said the final full alignment of the project is not yet fixed, but it will include a stretch from Jeddah to the Riyadh area. The possible alignment of a link between Riyadh and the Gulf coast is now under review.

The MEED MENA Rail & Metro Summit is sponsored by Fluor, ZTE, Louis Berger, Vossloh Middle East, Bechtel, Drake & Scull, Autodesk, Hill International, Parsons and Thales.

Hi Social Media Plays 'A Key Role' In Employment in Saudi Arabia.

In Hi' summary: "Social Media"

Social media is significantly impacting entrepreneurship and helping create employment opportunities in the Arab world, according to the first ever comprehensive study on the connection between social media and Mena employment, launched this week.

Close to 5,000 respondents from around the region contributed to the Dubai School of Government (DSG) report titled "Social Media, Employment and Entrepreneurship - New Frontiers for the Economic Empowerment of Arab Youth", which indicated that social media is playing a key role in promoting social advancement, job creation and business growth in the region, particularly in terms of supporting SMEs and facilitating start-ups.

"It is critical that companies use social media to engage both existing and aspiring employees.

Harnessing value from the flow of big data generated from social media is critical for driving greater operational efficiency, cutting costs, boosting profits and unlocking new routes to innovation," said Sam Alkharrat, Managing Director of SAP Mena, who was a partner in the study.

Nearly 80% of those surveyed agreed that social media, and associated technology, helps provide access to important job market data, allowing users to both advertise and locate job opportunities, with 75% agreeing that a new 'virtual job market' has emerged as a result of engagement with social platforms.

While perhaps being weaker in terms of case studies and quantitative research on how social media engagement is leading to successful entrepreneurship, the study did cover the range of uses for social media.

"Of course this is just based on peoples' perception and it doesn't necessarily translate onto the ground yet," Racha Mourtada, Research Associate with Dubai School of Government told AMEinfo. "But we do know that people are willing to utilise social media to create enterprises and promote job creation, so the willingness is there as well as the realisation of the benefits of social media."

"It's mostly been a qualitative approach, but we did have a few questions about peoples' actual experience with social media. We specifically asked entrepreneurs what they use social media for - mostly promotion and outreach. We're not quite at the stage where [social media] is used as more of a collaborative tool for crowd sourcing and crowd funding."

Report shows enthusiasm toward social media in business:

Close to 5,000 respondents from around the region contributed to the Dubai School of Government (DSG) report titled "Social Media, Employment and Entrepreneurship - New Frontiers for the Economic Empowerment of Arab Youth", which indicated that social media is playing a key role in promoting social advancement, job creation and business growth in the region, particularly in terms of supporting SMEs and facilitating start-ups.

"It is critical that companies use social media to engage both existing and aspiring employees.

Harnessing value from the flow of big data generated from social media is critical for driving greater operational efficiency, cutting costs, boosting profits and unlocking new routes to innovation," said Sam Alkharrat, Managing Director of SAP Mena, who was a partner in the study.

Nearly 80% of those surveyed agreed that social media, and associated technology, helps provide access to important job market data, allowing users to both advertise and locate job opportunities, with 75% agreeing that a new 'virtual job market' has emerged as a result of engagement with social platforms.

While perhaps being weaker in terms of case studies and quantitative research on how social media engagement is leading to successful entrepreneurship, the study did cover the range of uses for social media.

"Of course this is just based on peoples' perception and it doesn't necessarily translate onto the ground yet," Racha Mourtada, Research Associate with Dubai School of Government told AMEinfo. "But we do know that people are willing to utilise social media to create enterprises and promote job creation, so the willingness is there as well as the realisation of the benefits of social media."

"It's mostly been a qualitative approach, but we did have a few questions about peoples' actual experience with social media. We specifically asked entrepreneurs what they use social media for - mostly promotion and outreach. We're not quite at the stage where [social media] is used as more of a collaborative tool for crowd sourcing and crowd funding."

Report shows enthusiasm toward social media in business

The landmark report excels in providing vital clues to the mood of young professionals - the majority of those surveyed were in their twenties. The research team from DSG had a specific profile in mind to reflect the demographics and gender breakdowns on which the study was focussed, which was about a 60% male and 40% female, leaning more towards younger people under 30. Respondents were mostly within the private sector, but generally all were social media savvy.

"We were pleasantly surprised about the overwhelmingly positive view that social media can impact entrepreneurship and employment," explained Mourtada.

The big surprise is due to the fact that, for young Arabs, the job market outside of the public sectors of wealthy GCCmember states is not at all bright. A UN survey released earlier this year referred to Arab youth unemployment as 'disturbingly high', while noting that Middle East and North African countries had the highest unemployment youth rates in in the world in 2011 - at 26.2% and 27.1%, respectively.

However, DSG's report tells a sunnier tale, hailing social media as a vital component for start-ups in the Arab world, with 86% of respondents agreeing it contributed to success. Among the reasons cited were the multifaceted marketing potential (90%), a capacity to tap into wider markets (86%), substantial customer engagement options (85%) and its overall potential to raise awareness and instill entrepreneurial mindsets (84%).

Social media is significantly impacting entrepreneurship and helping create employment opportunities in the Arab world

Fadi Salem, Director of the Governance and Innovation Program, DSG, and co-author of the report, said in a statement: "Despite having few stable economies in the region today, the most active part of the Arab population; the youth, is increasingly feeling empowered. Our on-going research over the past two years has shown that close to 50 million Arabs are actively connected to social media and primarily use the platforms to change social and political realities in their countries.

Finding the balance between the UAE public, private sector

Salem chaired an expert panel at the launch of the report in order to facilitate discussion around where the responsibility lies in facilitating employment and business growth, in the context of an increasingly digital environment.

Speaking after the discussion, Mourtada admitted there was 'a bit of a way to go': "The panellists have been very candid about what needs to be done, their weaknesses and what issues need to be addressed - it seems from what's been discussed that the public sector is carrying a lot of the burden for job creation and the private sector needs to step up. So, I think just recognising this is an important step," she said.

It may be true that the government route may be a safety net for many, particularly in the UAE, though there is no shortage of incentives. The emirates are peppered with Free Zones, where businesses can be established at very limited cost, though Mourtada pointed to a shift in attitude being the real key.

"In the UAE there hasn't been that much of a hunger or need to succeed, because things are provided on so many levels, which is another contributing factor. It's about creating public-private partnerships. I think both have a lot to shoulder, but both need each other in order to create any sustainable initiatives."

"I think the government has been a bit of a safety net for a lot of people. A lot of youth expect to finish school and go into a stable government job, but now a lot of young people are changing and a lot of people want to create their own jobs and be their own boss. That's a big step forward," she continued.