Unemployment concerns prompting Arab youths to start businesses, survey finds

Unemployment concerns prompting Arab youths to start businesses, survey finds.

Emirati nationals attend a Tawdheef, a job fair. A lack of employment opportunities remains among the chief concerns of the Arab youth. Silvia Razgova / The National

ABU DHABI // Ongoing concern about levels of unemployment among Arab youths is prompting many to consider starting their own business.

A lack of employment opportunities remains among the chief concerns of the younger people, with respondents to seventh Arab Youth Survey citing it to be among the top three perceived obstacles facing the region.

“High unemployment rates continue to be a pressing concern for the region as its youth population grows,” said Sunil John, chief executive of communications firm Asda’a Burson-Marsteller, which commissioned the survey for the seventh year. “Overall unemployment rates differ significantly across the region from as low as 11 per cent in Kuwait to more than 30 per cent in Morocco, according to United Nations data.

“Meanwhile the Middle East and North Africa needs to create 80 to 100 million jobs by 2020 to maintain its current unemployment rates, according to the World Bank.”

Four-fifths of of the 3,500 people polled in 16 nations said they were concerned about unemployment. This was especially true for respondents in non-GCC countries.

Only a third of young non-GCC Arabs have confidence in their government’s ability to tackle unemployment, compared to two-thirds in the GCC.

Because of the concerns of finding a job in the public or private sectors, nearly two in five young Arabs are looking to start a business within the next five years, with technology, retail and real estate being the top three sectors of interest.

Hessa Khalid, a 24-year-old Emirati, set up her own business two years after finishing university and said it was the best decision she had made. Using her savings, she opened Sakura spa in Dubai Silicon Oasis. She now runs a staff of 12 and is expanding next month.

“I always wanted to have my own business,” she said. “I went to Japan three years ago and I really like the way they do the nail arts and I wanted to bring the idea to Dubai but I was still in university.

“So I worked for two years and saved some money and opened my own business.”

Ms Khalid would urge other Arab youths to follow in her footsteps – but warns it is hard work.

“I really encourage people but having your own business requires a lot of commitment. It is a 24 hours commitment.”

Mohamed Romainthi, a 21-year-old Emirati living in Dubai, set up his own business, a cafe. The business administration graduate also has other projects in the pipeline but would like another job working for a company.

He said unemployment was not a worry for him as the government helps out local youths.

The survey found a little more than a quarter (27 per cent) of non-GCC Arab youth say there are good job opportunities in the area they live, compared to 65 per cent in the GCC.

When asked to suggest what national governments should do to further encourage entrepreneurship, one third (32 per cent) say they should encourage affordable lending. They cite improving available training and education (26 per cent) as the second most pressing measure followed by reducing regulation and red tape (19 per cent).

While survey respondents felt unemployment was the third biggest obstacle, the rise of the Islamic State was cited as the biggest challenge for the region (37 per cent), followed by the threat of terrorism (32 per cent).

Nearly three in four (73 per cent) said they were “concerned” about the extremist group’s growing influence while at the same time, fewer than half (47 per cent) are confiden■t their national government can deal with the threat.

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About 3,500 youths aged 18 to 24 years old were polled in the Arab Youth Survey 2015. The survey, now in its seventh year, was conducted by Penn Schoen Berland in January and February and questioned male and female Arab nationals in 16 countries. They were questioned on the relationship between Arabic language and their national identity, employment and the potential success of democracy in the Middle East and which country they would prefer to live in. For the complete findings visit the Arab Youth Survey website.

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