Beirut-Marrakesh, 14 December 2023--At the closing of the 2nd Arab SMEs Summit, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) announces commitments to providing funding and support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) exceeding $177 million.
Commitments highlighted by ESCWA Executive Secretary Rola Dashti and partners included in addition to providing over $177 million in funding, digitizing 200 enterprises that have not yet embraced e-commerce; and providing training for 55,000 young men and women to develop their skills. She also pointed to ESCWA platforms that will help SMEs network among their Arab peers and reach external markets, in addition to the Arab Innovation Platform, which focuses on empowering and upscaling innovative and culture-specialized SMEs.
"Our commitments confirm our faith in you," Dashti said. "But it is not enough that we believe in you, you need to take bold steps and have faith in your abilities." She added that the Commission will commit to provide free certified training sessions on the Coursera platform for a three-month period.
For their part, the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND) committed to provide funding for financial inclusion and support to small-scale farmers, while PRIMA pledged to fund projects that deal with climate change impacts.
Similarly to last year, entrepreneurs registered their personal commitments, to be evaluated against implementation in the Summit's third edition in 2024.
The closing ceremony featured the announcement of winners of challenges launched by ESCWA earlier this year.
Furthermore, ESCWA sponsored the signature of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the International Islamic Finance Corporation (ITFC) and AGFUND to enhance cooperation in the implementation of join programmes and mobilize the financial resources needed to boost bilateral trade among member States, by focusing on supporting SMEs and providing several direct financial services.
The Summit, which was organized by ESCWA in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Inclusion, Small Enterprises, Employment and Skills of Morocco and other national and regional partners, had kicked off on 12 December in Marrakesh, and was attended by about 1300 participants including entrepreneurs, investors, business influencers, policymakers, economists, journalists, representatives of intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations, as well as donors.
Summit proceedings can be viewed at the following link: https://bit.ly/ASMEsLive
***
About ESCWA
One of five United Nations regional commissions, ESCWA supports inclusive and sustainable economic and social development in Arab States, and works on enhancing regional integration.
