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Empowered Youth and Women in Tunisia through DRC’s programme
Through the “Accelerated Creation of Employment in Medenine”-programme, 32 young Tunisians have gained viable and sustainable livelihoods.
Today, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) in Tunisia — with the financial support of the Danish International Development Agency through the Programme Innovation and Business Engagement Unit (PIBE) — gathered with key local UN agencies, civil society organisations, public institutions and its 15 newly certified entrepreneurs, to celebrate the key achievements of its programme “Accelerated Creation of Employment in Medenine". The closing event took place from 10 AM to 12 PM (Tunisia Time) in Zarzis.
Since its implementation in 2021, ACREM increased the employability of 32 young man and women from some of the most marginalized and deprived communities in Tunisia: Medenine, a border state where a large segment of young people depends on illegal trade as a main source of livelihood.
15 job-seeking women have been matched with job vacancies within private businesses in Medenine, and 17 young people have launched their businesses after receiving a grant from DRC and undergoing entrepreneurship trainings. 15 of them pursued their journey to develop and improve their businesses by perfecting their customer relations and marketing skills.
“Going into this training, I had the expectation it would be completely theoretical. Not only did it help me conceptualize my dream of starting my own business, it also created an income for my family”, testified Karima Ghroul, one of ACREM’s beneficiaries from Zarzis, and now, founder of a sewing business.
“In line with the DRC youth-empowerment-and-livelihood-focused strategy, we wished to implement a project able to combine addressing root causes of conflicts and protection of local communities hosting refugee and migrant populations, as part of economic recovery and social cohesion efforts”, stated Andrew Merat, Country Director of DRC Tunisia and Algeria.
FUTURE DRC PROGRAMMING IN TUNISIA
DRC Tunisia will continue to develop an Economic Recovery programme that seeks to provide concrete opportunities for Tunisian youth, particularly women, to build their employability and find sustainable opportunities to generate income, to support themselves and their families, and thus offer an alternative to migration.
DRC Tunisia is currently implementing, as the country lead in Tunisia, the Youth Inclusion and Employment Project (YIEP) which is part of the Youth Employment Program within the 2022-2027 phase of the Danish-Arab Partnership Program (DAPP), but also seeking to carry out other NEXUS programs aiming to increase protection and enhance the inclusion of people of concern.