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LIBYA
Libya has launched an entrepreneurship initiative to facilitate the establishment of innovative startups to create jobs for youth, especially those from vulnerable groups.
The new entrepreneurship initiative is called Deraya, an Arabic word meaning ‘knowledge and awareness’.
Professor Ahmed Attia, the head of faculty affairs at the faculty of medical technology at the University of Tripoli, said the entrepreneurship initiative “throws a lifeline to unemployed university graduates by enhancing their weak innovation capabilities and supporting them to establish their own businesses”.
Libya currently has one of the highest unemployment rates in the region, according to a Friedrich Ebert Stiftung report, Unemployed Working-class Neighbourhood Youth: Survival and resistance strategies in Libya, Tunisia and Morocco.
The new initiative is jointly developed by Libya’s Ministry of Local Government (MoLG), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the European Union (EU) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). It was launched at the end of May.
Initiative’s outline
The new entrepreneurship initiative is designed to equip entrepreneurs aged 18-35 with the ability to turn innovative ideas into successful startups.
Through interactive webinars, the initiative’s participants will be given an opportunity to engage with experienced entrepreneurs, subject matter experts and role models from Libya, Egypt and Tunisia to learn from their success stories, their wealth of knowledge, and expertise.
Egypt (67) and Tunisia (91) are among the top 100 countries in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index (GSEI) 2023 report.
The initiative will also entail startup weekends in Tripoli, Benghazi, Sebha, and Derna, culminating in a pitch competition in which the winning startups will receive financial support, funded by the EU and AfDB, to further develop their business ideas.
To achieve sustainability, entrepreneurs will be linked to the municipal business incubators MoLG is setting up with the UNDP’s technical support.
Innovation culture boost
Attia said: “The new entrepreneurship initiative will contribute to strengthening the innovation culture among the university community and society at large, and promote the development of startups as a tool for economic development.”
While Libya’s startup scene is still young and not ranked in the GSEI report, there are some notable startups that are paving the way for innovation, according to StartupBlink, a global start-up ecosystem map and research centre.
The Middle East and Africa region has 63 startup ecosystems represented in the global top 1,000 cities, up from 57 in 2022 with South Africa (3), Mauritius (5), Kenya (6), Nigeria (7) and Egypt (9) in the top 10, according to the GSEI report.
Libyan higher education institutions have many weaknesses in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation, particularly in academic staff, curricula, teaching methodology, administrative organisation and support research projects, according to an April 2023 study titled ‘Entrepreneurship and innovation culture in the Libya higher education institutions: A case study in the Faculties of Economics and Engineering at the universities of Tripoli, Zawia, Gharyan, Tobruk and Sabratha’, published in the Economic Studies Journal.
University startup alliance
Attia suggested that Libyan universities must lead efforts to establish a startup alliance that could promote the development of a startup ecosystem as a tool for economic growth through becoming entrepreneurial universities and boosting knowledge and technology transfer.
“Such an alliance will facilitate the exchange, flow and creation of knowledge between universities; stimulate the spirit of enterprise and the ability of universities to carry out innovative actions or activities along with increasing the cultural and entrepreneurial contribution of Libyan institutions to economic and social growth,” Attia said.
“The university-led startup alliance must link the new Deraya entrepreneurship initiative with entrepreneurship and innovation centres, business incubators, startup labs, accelerators and technology transfer offices located at Libyan universities.
“Such an alliance could also act as a hub for connecting stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, investors, regulators and corporate institutions, along with startups, tech parks and science cities,” Attia pointed out. He added: “Instead of isolated initiatives, the coordination of startup-orientated actions and institutions under one umbrella is important for maximum joint impact.”
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