Hosted by Wassim Ben Larbi, a popular radio and television presenter and producer, the event addressed how different stakeholders in the ecosystem can foster sustainable jobs and economic growth through digital, green innovation and agriculture. The event was attended by over 100 experts from across the Maghreb each involved in job creation for youth, including policymakers, business leaders, NGOs, finance institutions, tech startups and donors. 

Opening Ceremony
Opening the conference was Amb. Josephine Frantzen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Tunisia, Marco Stella, Head of the Economic Section at the EU Delegation to Tunisia, Simon van Melick, Head of Strategy at SPARK and Alaya Bettaieb, the Managing Director of Smart Capital, the national operator of Startup Tunisia. The esteemed representatives each discussed their contributions to youth employment within the digital and agriculture sectors across North Africa, noting similar challenges and solutions from their unique perspectives; governmental, INGO and private sector.

Keynote speech: Intissar Rajabany, Co-founder, Women in Business Committee, Libya
Intissar Rajabany gave an emotive keynote address in which she discussed the high potential of Libyan youth to become successful entrepreneurs, despite the many barriers they face. “Through digital, even small digital enterprises can achieve a global reach, which is staggering for scalability. The digital space has been a levelling and democratising factor.”

Panel: Innovation and Digital Economy
During the panel on Innovation and Digital Economy, speakers Zeineb Messaoud, Executive Director of The Dot; Aurélien Pastouret from the European Commission Southern Neighbourhood; Naaman Elbouri, Chairman of the Assary Trade and Investment Bank in Libya; and Hayfa Sdiri, Head of Youth Engagement at RIVET shared their views on the topic.

Hayfa Sdiri said: “Youth entrepreneurs need 3 things: financial capital, social capital and imagination capital. Just 0.002% of philanthropic funds go to young innovators. Social capital is the ability to network with people who can support my growth, personally and professionally. Imagination capital is the ability for young people to imagine themselves as successful, within their countries.”

Speaking about the need to reorient youth in Libya towards an entrepreneurial mindset, Naaman Elbouri said: “The issue we have in Libya is that we’re fighting against the mentality of a nanny state. People believe they need to be a government employee, no one wants to be an entrepreneur. As investors, we will not put a penny into any startup if we do not see the entrepreneurs invested themselves.”

Keynote speech: Hamzah Rkha Chaham, Founder of SOWIT, Morocco
At just 27-years-old, Moroccan-born Hamzah Rkha Chaham, founded SOWIT, a start-up providing decision support systems to more than 22,000 African farmers. When asked during his inspiring keynote speech why youth are not attracted to jobs within the agricultural sector, he said: “They can be. Since we are a data-native generation, the agricultural industry can become more accessible to youth with the use of digital technology. Before it was too field-based, too complicated”.

Panel: Agriculture and the Green Economy
The final panel on Agriculture and the Green Economy featured speakers Khaoula Behi, Managing Founder of Future Islands; Walid Gaddas, Managing Director of STECIA International; Malinne Blomberg, Deputy Director General – North Africa, African Development Bank; and Gertrude Wagemans, Senior Strategic Adviser on International Cooperation & Private Sector Development (MENA) at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs – RVO.

Gertrude Wagemans said: “A lot of our focus goes towards youth employment in the agricultural sector. We still feel we can do better, we’re only scratching the surface. Our Systems Change Framework aims for sustainable, innovative and high value added jobs in the agrifood sector. From day one, SPARK has been involved in developing our strategy. We need more partnerships and I’m hoping that today could be a start.”

SPARK’s commitment to facilitating cross-sectoral partnerships
Closing the event, SPARK’s Regional Programme Director for North and Sub-Saharan Africa, Mourad Hentati, summarised SPARK’s commitment to facilitating cross-sectoral partnerships that address youth employment: “We’re trying to establish a concrete and pragmatic way of doing things. I would invite the people in this room to commit to making this real.”