A Mentoring Program for Young Entrepreneurs in the Souss-Massa Region (MASOM0002)

Commitment ID

MASOM0002

Commitment Title

A Mentoring Program for Young Entrepreneurs in the Souss-Massa Region

Problem

The Souss-Massa Region faces multiple challenges for youth, including:

• Limited employment opportunities, particularly in rural areas, where youth struggle to find jobs that match their aspirations;
• Many youths do not benefit from the necessary support in terms of professional orientation corresponding to their needs. Improving their ability to adapt to the job market requirements depends on strengthening the regional offer in terms of specialized training centers;
• Faced with a lack of employment opportunities, entrepreneurship is an alternative solution, but youth face major challenges in this domain, such as a lack of financing, mentoring and support infrastructures;
• The co-creation of shared opportunities for youth entrepreneurs depends on strengthening coordination between the Public and Private sectors and Civil Society.

Status quo

For several years, the Souss-Massa Region has been experiencing a new impetus, thanks in particular to the launch of a number of structuring projects and worksites aimed at developing entrepreneurship among youth (Technoparc, Innovation City, Regional Development Program 2022-2027, etc.). To create new growth drivers, the Regional Council, in partnership with the Regional Investment Center, the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises Souss-Massa Region, and the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services, has engaged in an ambitious strategy entitled "The ABRID program". This program is in line with the Region's vision of co-creating innovative and resilient entrepreneurial projects that fit perfectly with the challenges of climate change and drought, which require the deployment of greener agriculture, not to mention the decarbonization imperative that concerns export industries.

Action

The commitment aims to co-create and co-implement the following objectives:

• Promote transparency and community participation by supporting Youth entrepreneurship;
• Encourage a culture of entrepreneurship as a career choice for Youth;
• Support youth to access employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, and organize training sessions to facilitate their integration into the job market;

The implementation of the objectives identified above will enable us to achieve the following results by 2027:

• Raise Young people's awareness of employment opportunities and available support, and improve access to resources;
• Promote engagement and accountability by empowering Young people to monitor projects and engage in ongoing evaluations;
• Catalyze local economic development by increasing Youth participation in entrepreneurial projects.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?

By 2027, the co-creation and co-implementation of the commitment to mentor Youth entrepreneurs in the Souss-Massa Region will create social, environmental and economic virtuous circles:

• On the social plan, the reinforcement of the regional offer in terms of formation sessions will facilitate the integration of Youth in the job market;
• On the environmental level, the ideas and values shared by partners and mentors throughout the training sessions will support Young entrepreneurs in their quest to embrace a new form of entrepreneurship that places sustainable development at the heart of their concerns;
• On the economic front, Youth entrepreneurs will learn to apply viable and innovative business models that will help sustain and develop their projects.

What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?

The long-term goal to which the commitment to mentor youth entrepreneurs in the Souss-Massa Region relates is articulated around the following axes:

• Contribute to the creation of an enabling environment to encourage youth to create businesses that will meet local socio-economic needs and boost job creation;
• Contribute to meeting the challenges of sustainable and inclusive development through high-impact projects that are sustainable and long-lasting;
• Promote the involvement of regional ecosystem stakeholders (public, private, and civil society associations) to substantially support the entrepreneurial dynamic among Youth;
• Be at the heart of the regional vision for promoting entrepreneurship in order to help reveal the skills and initiative of young people to create economic, social, societal, and environmental value.

Primary Policy Area

Civic Space, Stimulus and Economic Recovery

Primary Sector

Cross-sectoral, Private Sector

What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?