Success Stories

BOOST, which stands for “Building Our Organization Sustainably and Technically,” provides these initiatives with training that covers everything their leaders need to know to run successful and sustainable projects, from how to design and evaluate their projects to how to write proposals that meet the expectations and requirements of donors. Some of the organizations also receive mini-grants and practical support while they implement their ideas after qualifying through a competitive process for mini-grants and practical support. 

This year, the youth-centric program has prepared 60 individuals aged 18-30 to take on roles in the country’s burgeoning aviation industry. They underwent extensive training to enhance their English language proficiency and acquire essential soft and digital skills, crucial for success in the aviation industry.

The AEI’s commitment to entrepreneurship was on display in November 2023, when it brought speakers from the worlds of entrepreneurship and capacity building for Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW).

The Amideast sessions echoed GEW's message of action, knowledge, and connection. Eight in all and varying in focus, the talks and workshops turned the spotlight on the entrepreneurial mindset, skills, and knowledge and what it takes to advance entrepreneurship in a landscape shaped by Lebanon’s unique economic and social challenges.

Montadhar Al-Moussawi (Iraq) is a Fulbright alum from 2019 and attended the University of Wyoming.

Unemployment rates for women in the region remain stubbornly high despite advances in their academic achievements. Women’s labor participation rates in most countries are among the world’s lowest, although it is widely recognized that integration of women with secondary and tertiary education into the workforce would boost most of the region’s economies.

With a third of its population of 11 million under the age of 30, youth unemployment averaging 36 percent in the past decade, and one of the world’s lowest female labor participation rates, Jordan faces considerable demographic challenges that is further complicated by the presence of nearly 4 million Syrian and Palestinian refugees and the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic on employment.

Amideast is proud to be a member of the YES Consortium, a team of five organizations that administer the YES program as Recruiting Organizations on behalf of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). Amideast has been a partner from the very first year of YES, recruiting nearly 4,000 students from the MENA to date.

Here are just a few of our recent programs that are using digital tools to elevate women and girls in the MENA region: 

Forty recent university graduates between the ages of 19 and 26 completed the program, made possible through a grant from Citi Foundation as part of a broader initiative through which another 45 Saudi university graduates participated in Amideast’s Skills for Success® program and 52 aspiring Egyptian entrepreneurs received training and support in developing and launching their own businesses. While most of the women were unemployed, some were working in entry-level jobs and aspiring for promotion or a career change.