Project to Fight Covid-19 through Supporting Innovation, Entrepreneurship of Youth and Women Launched in Rabat

12 November 2020 Printable Version

Rabat - The Moroccan National Commission for Education, Science and Culture and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) launched, Thursday in Rabat, a project to combat Covid-19 through supporting innovation and entrepreneurship of youth and women.

This project aims to support the efforts of 10 African countries to cope with the impact of Covid-19, namely Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, Mauritania and Côte d'Ivoire.

A $200,000 grant is allocated for the implementation of this new project aimed at developing the spirit of entrepreneurship among youth and women, especially those from rural areas and the informal sector, said Minister of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research, government spokesman and President of the Moroccan National Commission for Education, Science and Culture, Saaid Amzazi.

This project is in line with the roadmap for the development of vocational training which was presented to HM King Mohammed VI in April 2019, with a view to establishing new mechanisms to integrate a part of the informal sector into the formal sector, and creating an entrepreneurial culture among youth, the official added.

The project also aims to develop the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation among youth and women from rural areas by strengthening their capacity to produce hygienic products (hand sanitizer) and equipment (protective masks).

Such projects are seen as a model of constructive South-South partnership that Morocco supports and that allows a fresh start for the beneficiaries, the minister added.

The National Commission is making great efforts to support projects and programs launched by ICESCO aimed at promoting education and cultural sciences, which are considered as indispensable engines to achieve the overall development and prosperity of societies, Amzazi went on.

For his part, ICESCO's Director General Salem Ben Mohammed Almalek said that Morocco, under the enlightened leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, is a model to follow in terms of measures to address the Covid-19 pandemic.

This new project aims to build the capacity of youth and women and support them in the creation of income-generating start-ups, he explained, welcoming the initiative of the National Commission to create a unit in charge of the management and monitoring of the project.

At the end of the launch ceremony, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the National Commission and the ICESCO. The MoU defines the main thrusts of the project and the governance system approved for its implementation, in addition to the financing mechanisms put in place.