The leading non-profit organizations in the Middle-East, Injaz, has been awarded a further $1 million from Google.org, the philanthropic arm of global search giant Google. The latest awarding brings to $2 million awarded to Injaz by Google.org since 2018. The philanthropic arm of Google was founded in 2004 to support non-profit organizations around the world.

Injaz, which operates in 13 countries, is the largest non-profit organisation dedicated to overcoming unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Funding from Google.org previously helped 100,000 students across the MENA region, particularly women and underserved communities, expand their digital skills through hands-on training.

“For us it’s really been committing to empowering people to have the skills they need to thrive in this new, digital economy and that’s been our work in several countries,” said Rowen Barnett, head of Google.org for the Europe, Middle East and Africa, as well as the Asia Pacific region.

Google believes that by 2020, at least one in five jobs in the Arab world will require digital skills that are not widely available today, leading to a skills gap. To address this potential gap, Google launched Maharat min Google in 2018. This digital skills training programme for Arabic speakers, specifically women and youth, will help them prepare for future job opportunities.

It is estimated that over the next 30 years, governments and companies in the region will need to create over 300 million jobs and many of those jobs will be created through the digital economy. However, a recent survey showed that only 38 percent of youth in the region believe that their education gives them the skills they need to succeed in the workforce.

“I think there’s huge potential. Not only are we committed as a company, but we also see the commitment from organisations we work with, from the government and it’s the ‘can do’ attitude, this thirst for innovation and for improving lives,” said Mr. Barnett.

“I do feel that, the way this region has embraced innovation in the last decade, I think there’s an incredible amount of promise. The conversations I’ve been having with non-profits and also with others in the region over the last few days, is how can we learn more, how can we apply AI, how can we improve this in our universities,” he added.


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