MEPI TLS Students Karim and Lea Win 2nd Place in Unilever’s Uniway Competition with Inclusive Morning Kit Idea

Karim Ghamrawi and Lea Habr, MEPI TLS students at LAU Byblos Campus, participated in Unilever’s Uniway competition where they presented their idea for an inclusive morning kit that promotes diversity, inclusion, and equity. The campaign aimed to involve women from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities, including women in STEM, disabled women, hijabi women, and children. The ... Read More»

MEPI Alumnus Becomes the first Libyan Knight-Hennesy Scholar at Stanford University

Ashraf Sabkha, a 2015 graduate of the Tomorrow’s Leaders Undergraduate Program from the U.S. Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), recently became the first Libyan Knight-Hennesy Scholar at Stanford University. Under the Tomorrow’s Leaders scholarship, Sabkha received leadership training and support, graduating summa cum laude from the American University in Cairo with a ... Read More»

SLP Alumna Helps Prepare Community Youth for Changing Environments Through Technology and Innovation

With assistance from a MEPI Leaders Grant, Nora Chaynane, a 2019 alumna of the MEPI Student Leaders Program (SLP), successfully trained 50 participants from 10 different regions of Morocco to leverage technology and innovation in rapidly changing environments. Through her Shine Space Smart Sustainable Solutions (S.5 Project) initiative, Nora received a small grant from the ... Read More»

Dakhla Connect Provides a Platform for Economic Growth in the MENA Region

Dakhla offers many advantages and opportunities for businesses, including a transport hub with links to Europe and Africa, excellent infrastructure, quality human resources, and exceptional nature and weather conditions. However, business opportunities in Dakhla are little known, and local businesses are not well connected. MEPI’s “Promoting Economic Opportunity in Dakhla and Laayoune” project has helped ... Read More»

Small Construction and Engineering Businesses in Morocco Receive Support from MEPI and NEF

The Al-Rawabet project promotes the growth of high-potential companies and invests in the  development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Safi-Marrakech region, with funding from  the United States Department of State Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). A new public private partnership (PPP) in Safi, Morocco started through Al-Rawabet is providing opportunities  for young entrepreneurs to ... Read More»

MEPI and NEF Help to Make Start-up Ideas Come to Life in Morocco

In the Marrakech-Safi region of Morocco, many resources are available to entrepreneurs, but  they weren’t working together or coordinating to influence policy. The Al-Rawabet project,  funded by the United States Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI),  takes an entirely new approach to the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the  region. Through Al-Rawabet, ... Read More»

Hub Créatif and MEPI’s Support for Al-Rawabet in Morocco

In the Marrakech-Safi region of Morocco, many resources are available to entrepreneurs, but businesses weren’t working together or coordinating to influence policy. The Al-Rawabet project, funded by the United States Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), takes an entirely new approach to the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the  region. Through Al-Rawabet, ... Read More»

Blending Academia and Grassroots Advocacy Efforts: How a MEPI Alumna is Helping Empower Thousands of Women in Lebanon

As young as eighteen years old, Danya Arayssi (SLP 2018, Lebanon) recognized many of her community’s challenges. Through accounts she heard about women being silenced by cultural norms, traditions, and values, Danya knew that her passion lied in empowering women. Danya explains, “They are silenced to denounce a continuous yet traumatic daily abuse and human ... Read More»

The Debut of the “My TL Story” Contest

MEPI Tomorrow’s Leaders program has recently launched, for the first time, the “My TL story” contest across the top three leading universities in the Middle East; the Lebanese American University, The American University of Beirut and the American University of Cairo. The contest invited current TL undergraduate students to share their experiences during the TL ... Read More»

MEPI Alumnus Uses Psychology to Help Diabetes Patients

Nasser al-Tooblani graduated from MEPI’s Tomorrow’s Leaders program at LAU in the spring of 2020 with a BA in Psychology and received High Distinction. Suffering from diabetes since he was two years old, Nasser has consistently struggled with diabetes self-management throughout his life. In his capstone project « Bloom », Nasser came up with the ... Read More»

MEPI grantee Lebanese Center for Active Citizenship empowers local women

MEPI Local grantee Lebanese Center for Active Citizenship (LCAC) successfully empowered and trained 100 refugee and Lebanese women to produce and sell high quality fishing nets.  The program also trained the women on how to market their product and cut out middle men, further empowering these women economically in their communities.  The women have been able to ... Read More»

MEPI Jordanian Grantee Successfully Provides Youth With Skills to Start Their Businesses

MEPI Jordanian Local grantee “AYA for Consultancy and Development” successfully continues to provide opportunities for youth to engage in skills empowerment, business training, and micro-grants for starting business initiatives that will assist them to connect with their communities and create economic benefits. An ongoing success story is the “Growing Mushrooms” micro grant. The idea is ... Read More»

Tunisia: MEPI Beneficiary Leaves Medicine to Become an Entrepreneur

After working for 18 years in the medical field, Bouchra Laouani Mansour started thinking about launching her own business. Ambitious, independent and dynamic, she began marketing a brand of organic cosmetics, working from home and relying on her personal network. This experience made her want to go further and become her own boss. Drawing on ... Read More»

Moroccan Youth Awarded Small Business Grants in the Highly Competitive Machrou3i DreamUp Competition

Over 260 youth applied to participate in the DreamUp competition in El Jadida and Safi. Forty selected youth participated in training and coaching events organized by the Machrou3i incubators, a project funded by MEPI that provides support and coaching to youth entrepreneurs, to develop their business plans. In the final competition, the top ten selected youth presented their innovative projects ... Read More»

Youth Entrepreneurship Advocacy- Aventures d’Entrepreneurs

In April 2017, for the third edition of Aventures d’Entrepreneurs, Reseau Entreprendre Tunisie (RET) conducted a survey of over 160 Tunisian women entrepreneurs to highlight the real challenges and pitfalls faced by women entrepreneurs across the country. A position paper summarizing key results and presenting relevant recommendations was developed. On May 17th, RET organized a panel at Cogite ... Read More»

MEPI Supports Chambers of Commerce and Youth Entrepreneurship Organizations

The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) – funded Chambers of Commerce and Business Associations Customized Assistance Program (CBACAP), implemented by Deloitte Consulting LLP, has made strides in building the capacities of eight Tunisian Chambers of Commerce and three youth economic organizations over the past four years. The mission of the program is to drive inclusive, ... Read More»

MEPI Announces a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Entrepreneurship Projects in MENA

The Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), a program within the Bureau of Near East Affairs Office of Assistance Coordination (NEA/AC), announces a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for projects designed to assist entrepreneurs seeking to expand and grow their businesses and activities. The NOFO will close on June 6, 2017. For more information on ... Read More»

MEPI Helps Entrepreneur Overcome Challenges to Grow Successful Salon

Khadija Elhammal, a 35-year-old hairstylist and makeup artist from Safi, Morocco, knew launching her own salon would come with its challenges. But with her determination and support from the Empowering Youth through Entrepreneurship in Morocco (EYEM) team, Khadija successfully opened her own salon. Khadija received a diploma in hairstyling and aesthetics from the National Initiative ... Read More»

With MEPI’s Help, Young Entrepreneur Overcomes the Odds and Launches Sewing Business

Malika was born and brought up in Midelt, a small town in the high plains of central Morocco. Without access to a school after her primary years, Malika was unable to continue her education and began studying sewing, as it did not require fluency in French. After a year of professional training in sewing in Tangier, Malika undertook an internship and ... Read More»

Young Woman’s Successful Business Helps Her Return to School

Hajar Addani grew up in Khouribga City and El Jadida, Morocco where she studied computer science in college and excelled in her program. In 2015, Hajar was accepted to the US Diversity Visa Lottery Program—a program that grants eligible candidates a chance to legally immigrate to the United States to live and work. Hajar believed that the opportunity would be life changing ... Read More»

With MEPI’s Help, Farah Realizes Her Dream and Opens Her Own Tailoring Shop

Farah Souimtou is an expert tailor who for years dreamed of opening her own business. After earning a diploma in tailoring from a private tailoring school in Safi in 2004, she remained on as a trainer for 12 more years. Now at age 32 and the mother of a four year old son, Farah wants to build something on her ... Read More»

Said Takes Computer Repair into His Own Hands

Said Grilou from Safi, Morroco, worked in several different technology companies after receiving a degree in computer science from the Specialized Institute of Applied Technology (ISTA) in 2012. In an effort to put all he had learned at ISTA into practice and truly utilize his degree, 29-year-old Said decided to start his own business repairing and selling computers and other similar ... Read More»

MEPI Supports Women Entrepreneurs in West Bank

On March 22, 2017 the MEPI Administrator attended the training session which was conducted by Nisaa FM in cooperation with Bank of Palestine and funded by MEPI through a local grant entitled “Aswaq “on marketing skills. Several Women Entrepreneurs from all over West Bank participated and were able to present their small business ideas and ... Read More»

MEPI Supports Youth Entrepreneurship in Jerusalem

During January 2017 “JEST for Entrepreneurship and Development “a MEPI Local Grantee started a series of Leadership and Entrepreneurship workshops as part of the MEPI funded project entitled “Jerusalem Organic Youth (JOY) “. This project aims to inspire the new generation in East Jerusalem about leadership, entrepreneurship and coding, which are topics not tackled in ... Read More»

CorpsAfrica/Maroc, a MEPI Success Story

Learning from the PeaceCorps model, CorpsAfrica launched a new model for Moroccan volunteers to help their own communities – particularly challenging when the culture of volunteerism is not that pervasive. MEPI has been a key partner to helping CorpsAfrica get started and established. Now in its third year of operations, CorpsAfrica’s project “Volunteerism and Community ... Read More»
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