March 2017

Profiles of the Diaspora: Rym Baouendi

Born in Tunisia, Rym Baouendi left at the age of 18. After passing her Tunisian baccalaureate exam, she attended the National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) in Lyon (France) where she obtained a Master in civil engineering and urban planning as well as a degree in architecture from the Lyon School of Architecture. She later obtained a Master in building engineering from Concordia University in Montreal (Canada).

Also available in: Français | العربية

It has been 34 years since Mounir Beltaifa left Tunisia for France, spending five of those years in Morocco. Beltaifa was born in Kalâa Kébira, Tunisia, in 1964, and attended primary and secondary school in Sousse, where he distinguished himself as a student. In 1981, he packed his bags for Paris, where he enrolled in preparatory courses for admission to the grandes écoles (France’s system of elite universities). He completed his academic curriculum and graduated from the civil engineering school, École des Ponts/ParisTech, in 1988.

Also available in: العربية | Français

“You can take the man out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the man.”

A native of Morocco, Hanane Benkhallouk began her career in New York before moving to Dubai in 2005. Along the way, she held senior positions in sales and marketing, communications and business development. She has led multinational, interdisciplinary teams for international market projects – MENA, Asia, Europe and the USA – and in diverse sectors, from finance and banking to retail, real estate investment, franchise development and consulting services.

Also available in: Français | العربية

The agricultural sector is one of the strategic drivers of Morocco’s economy, generating 40 percent of the country’s jobs and currently employing four million people. Approximately 85 percent of the rural population, 57 percent of whom are women, works in agriculture. Women nevertheless still have very little access to decent incomes, land, and markets.

Also available in: Français | العربية

Businesses, for many the real drivers of job creation, can also be the foundation of wealth and greater economic inclusion of the general population. Jobs or Privileges, a World Bank Group report published in 2014, shows that high-growth startups—or young firms—accounted for all net job creation in Morocco’s manufacturing sector at the time. But, by comparison with older small or medium–size enterprises, young start-ups faced far greater barriers in Morocco to accessing finance.

Also available in: العربية | Français

There was silence in the room. No one seemed to want to speak up. I asked again: “what are the most important challenges that you face every day?” Suba, a young woman in her early 20s living in Tripoli, one of the regions with the highest poverty levels and concentration of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, finally raised her hand and said: “We are unemployed and have no access to basic services. We are sympathetic to the Syrian refugee cause. However, they are taking our jobs.

Also available in: العربية | Français

In common with many other countries in the Middle East and North Africa region, Morocco and Tunisia have a huge untapped source of human talent.

March 2017

Profiles of the Diaspora: Rym Baouendi

Profiles of the Diaspora: Mounir Beltaifa

Profiles of the Diaspora: Hanane Benkhallouk

“Seeing a woman robbed of the fruits of her labor galvanized me into action”

Developing venture capital for young startup firms in Morocco

The Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon: empowering youth to serve as agents of change

#EmpowerHer: Combining technology and the creativity of youth to promote the economic empowerment of women in the Maghreb

March 2017

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