Synergos Launches 3rd Round of Social Entrepreneurship Program in the Middle East
The Synergos Arab World Social Innovators (AWSI) program,
which launched its first round in 2008, has supported 40 civil
society leaders, serving over 200 people in marginalized
communities in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the UAE and
Palestine.
AWSI offers social activists financial and planning
support, helping them to transform high-potential projects into
companies or NGOs, with the aim to serve the local community more
effectively.
Each social innovator who is selected by the program
will get the chance to attend workshops and training events,
connect with other innovators working in similar fields, and
communicate with Synergos network members, including business
leaders and activists. The winners chosen during this round will
also receive a financial prize of $12,500 annually for two
years.
Throughout its two previous rounds, AWSI made a
positive impact on its targeted communities. In Jordan, the program
trained over 420 Jordanian women working in the children’s
storytelling field, and helped to establish 80 libraries offering
their services to more than 4,000 child. In Palestine, the program
helped a school for visually-impaired children to double its
capacity to fit more than 300 children. In Egypt, the program
supports an organization targeting garbage collectors by offering
them professional training to help them find better job
opportunities.
“The relations and connections that Synergos provides have
helped entrepreneurs attract additional funding of over $3.2
billion for their projects,” says George Khalaf, Director of
Synergos Institute in the Middle East and North Africa. “It also
inspired our program to make new coalitions, which helped to spread
the models of those successful entrepreneurs to new communities.”
During this round, those who graduated from the past
rounds will provide support and mentorship and participate by
electing the winners.
“Each year we understand more what we participate in, and we
benefit from the lessons we learned in the previous rounds. We are
also planning to encourage the program’s sponsors to dedicate more
time supporting social entrepreneurs in the region,” says
Khalaf.
Those interested in the program can apply for the third round by visiting AWSI’s website. The deadline for applications is May 31, 2013.