Shuf Entrepreneur, a ray of hope for rural youth and women

In an article published today, L’Orient Le Jour brought to light a new initiative launched from the village of Kahluniyeh in Shuf area, and managed by a group of some 100 volunteers operating in 8 regions of the Shuf Moutain. The Shuf Entrepreneur, as it is named, was founded by Haitham Saab, CEO of the software development company, TechGenies, and founder of the Knowledge Exchange Forum. The initiative is aimed to support the young people and women, as well as small and medium enterprise (SMEs) to empower them through the development of professional skills. Throughout his work at TechGenies, Saab said he identified some gaps between the aptitudes of youth and the size of the required professional skills. What inspired him to kick off the project, he pointed out, is the Directive No. 331 issued by the Bank of Lebanon and related to the support of SMEs, particularly those in the domain of IT. The Shuf Entrepreneur, Saab explained, works along 4 levels: the development of entrepreneurships in rural areas; building professional skills and capacities; empowerment of women and support of SMEs. In his interview with L’Orient Le Jour, Saab focused on women which he maintained has the lion’s share of the group’s attention, downplaying the outdated cultural assumption that that women’s capacities are less than men’s. He underscored that the program seeks to empower women so as to cope with impeding challenges and identify appropriate businesses for their skills and circumstances, including for example, working from home.

(L’Orient Le Jour, October 5, 2016)